LAUSR

Health in cultured fisheries of developing countries is suffering from blow of pathogenic microbes. Among these microbial diseases, fungal and fungal like pathogen outbreaks lead to negative social and economic impacts on stakeholders. The cultured fisheries of Kashmir valley due to fish fungal pathogens have also led to terrible socio-economic condition of the fish farmer community hence, yearns to boost the sector with efficient management strategy. Our study is an attempt to investigate the diversity of fungal communities infecting cultured rainbow trout and carp fish species. We employed classical microbiology, macro and micro morphological characteristics, and molecular analysis (multilocus typing) for fungal pathogen identification. Also histopathological approach was used to examine the pathogenicity patterns of diverse fungal groups. The study revealed that the infection in fish was predisposed to both superficial as well as visceral organs. However, skin, gills and head was mostly infected compared to internal organs. The microbiological investigation of infected fish by culture dependent approach helped us to obtain the total of 250 fungal isolates. Out of these isolates 21 different species were identified belonging to three diverse fungal groups which mostly included 14 species among Ascomycetes, 03 species of Oomycetes and 04 species of Zygomycetes. The majority of fungi which were infectious to cultured fish of valley are biotrophic or opportunistic soil fungi, and some of them being exclusive pathogens of fish.