Large-Scale, Multi-Year Microbial Community Survey of a Freshwater Trout Aquaculture Facility

The profiling of microbial communities residing within aquaculture facilities have generally been focused on the farmed species as opposed to the water and surfaces that surround the. Our goal with this study was to characterize the microbial communities residing at three different sites in and around a freshwater rainbow trout aquaculture facility while simultaneously detecting economically-relevant Flavobacterial fish pathogens. This work will better the understanding of the microbial ecology and community dynamics within an aquaculture facility and inform on potential under-studied sources and reservoirs for recurrent pathogens.