Genome-Wide DNA Methylation and RNA Analysis Reveal Potential Mechanism of Resistance to Streptococcus agalactiae in GIFT Strain of Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus ).

Streptococcus agalactiae is an important pathogenic bacterium causing great economic loss in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) culture. Resistant and susceptible groups sharing the same genome showed significantly different resistance to S. agalactiae in the genetically improved farmed tilapia strain of Nile tilapia. The resistance mechanism is unclear. We determined genome-wide DNA methylation profiles in spleen of resistant and susceptible O. niloticus at 5 h postinfection with S. agalactiae using whole-genome bisulfite sequencing. The methylation status was higher in the spleen samples from resistant fish than in the susceptible group. A total of 10,177 differentially methylated regions were identified in the two groups, including 3725 differentially methylated genes (DMGs) (3129 hyper-DMGs and 596 hypo-DMGs). The RNA sequencing showed 2374 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), including 1483 upregulated and 891 downregulated. Integrated analysis showed 337 overlapping DEGs and DMGs and 82 overlapping DEGs and differentially methylated region promoters. By integrating promoter DNA methylation with gene expression, we revealed four immune-related genes (Arnt2, Nhr38, Pcdh10, and Ccdc158) as key factors in epigenetic mechanisms contributing to pathogen resistance. Our study provided systematic methylome maps to explore the epigenetic mechanism and reveal the methylation loci of pathogen resistance and identified methylation-regulated genes that are potentially involved in defense against pathogens.

pik3r3b, a novel immune-related gene in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus): Identification, expression and analysis of antibacterial activity.

A full-length cDNA encoding phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase regulatory subunit gamma b gene in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), termed as On-pik3r3b, was identified and characterized in this study. The sequence analysis demonstrated that the full-length cDNA of On-pik3r3b was 2018 bp, containing a 5' untranslated region (UTR) of 171 bp, an open reading frame (ORF) of 1422 bp and a 3' UTR of 425 bp. Its protein sequence displayed a high degree of identity with other fish. Using qPCR, the expression patterns of On-pik3r3b were investigated. In healthy Nile tilapia, the transcripts of On-pik3r3b were detected in all examined tissues, except the skin. Upon the stimulation with Streptococcus agalactiae, the On-pik3r3b expression level in liver, spleen, kidney and gill were significantly increased at 12 h after infection. The recombinant On-pik3r3b showed in vitro antibacterial activity, against S. agalactiae and E. coli. Our observation strongly indicates that On-pik3r3b is involved in the innate immune response in Nile tilapia.

High Incidence of Pathogenic Streptococcus agalactiae ST485 Strain in Pregnant/Puerperal Women and Isolation of Hyper-Virulent Human CC67 Strain.

Group B streptococcus (GBS) is the major pathogen causing diseases in neonates, pregnant/puerperal women, cows and fish. Recent studies have shown that GBS may be infectious across hosts and some fish GBS strain might originate from human. The purpose of this study is to investigate the genetic relationship of CC103 strains that recently emerged in cows and humans, and explore the pathogenicity of clinical GBS isolates from human to tilapia. Ninety-two pathogenic GBS isolates were identified from 19 patients with different diseases and their evolution and pathogenicity to tilapia were analyzed. The multilocus sequence typing revealed that clonal complex (CC) 103 strain was isolated from 21.74% (20/92) of patients and ST485 strain was from 14.13% (13/92) patients with multiple diseases including neonates. Genomic evolution analysis showed that both bovine and human CC103 strains alternately form independent evolutionary branches. Three CC67 isolates carried gbs2018-C gene and formed one evolutionary branch with ST61 and ST67 strains that specifically infect dairy cows. Studies of interspecies transmission to tilapia found that 21/92 (22.83%) isolates including all ST23 isolates were highly pathogenic to tilapia and demonstrated that streptococci could break through the blood-brain barrier into brain tissue. In conclusions, CC103 strains are highly prevalent among pathogenic GBS from humans and have evolved into the highly pathogenic ST485 strains specifically infecting humans. The CC67 strains isolated from cows are able to infect humans through evolutionary events of acquiring CC17-specific type C gbs2018 gene and others. Human-derived ST23 pathogenic GBS strains are highly pathogenic to tilapia.

Basal polarization of the immune responses to Streptococcus agalactiae susceptible and resistant tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus).

One of the highest priority areas for improvement is the development of effective strategies for decreasing disease mortality levels in aquaculture production, a better understanding of the components of the fish immune system and their functions in the context of pathogen invasion is needed. Tilapia is the most common fish in South China, and Streptococcus agalactiae has become the most serious disease problem for tilapia industry in China. Here, we profiled gene expression differences between tilapia differing in their susceptibility to S. agalactiae both basally (before infection) and at three early timepoints post-infection (5 h, 50 h, and 7 d). Between group comparisons revealed 5756 unique genes differentially expressed greater than 2-fold at one or more timepoints. And the resistant fish showed much more strong ability in pathogen recognition, antigen presentation, immune activation, while the susceptible fish showed fast activation of apoptosis. Taken together, the immune profiles expand our knowledge for molecular mechanisms for disease resistance, as well as provide solid molecular resources for further identification of the candidate markers for disease-resistant selection and evaluation of disease prevention and treatment options for tilapia industry.

Transcriptomic profiling analysis of tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) following Streptococcus agalactiae challenge.

Innate immune system is the primary defense mechanism against pathogen infection in teleost, which are living in pathogen-rich aquatic environment. It has been long hypothesized that the disease resistance in teleost are strongly correlated to the activities of innate immune genes. Tilapia is an important economical fish around the world, especially in China, where the production accounts for nearly half of the global production. Recently, S. agalactiae has become one of the most serious bacterial diseases in southern China, resulted in high cumulative mortality and economic loss to tilapia industry. Therefore, we sought here to characterize the expression profiles of tilapia against S. agalactiae infection at whole transcriptome level by RNA-seq technology. A total of 2822 genes were revealed significantly expressed in tilapia spleen with a general trend of induction. Notably, most of the genes were rapidly the most induced at the early timepoint. The significantly changed genes highlighted the function of pathogen attachment and recognition, antioxidant/apoptosis, cytoskeletal rearrangement, and immune activation. Collectively, the induced expression patterns suggested the strong ability of tilapia to rapidly recognize the invasive bacteria, and activation of downstream immune signaling pathways to clear the bacteria and prevent the tissue damage and bacteria triggered cell apoptosis. Our results heighted important roles of novel candidate genes which were often missed in previous tilapia studies. Further studies are needed to characterize the molecular relationships between key immune genes and disease resistance, and to identify the candidate genes for molecular-assistant selection of disease-resistant broodstock and evaluation of disease prevention and treatment measures.

Comparative genome analysis identifies two large deletions in the genome of highly-passaged attenuated Streptococcus agalactiae strain YM001 compared to the parental pathogenic strain HN016.

BACKGROUND: Streptococcus agalactiae (S. agalactiae), also known as group B Streptococcus (GBS), is an important pathogen for neonatal pneumonia, meningitis, bovine mastitis, and fish meningoencephalitis. The global outbreaks of Streptococcus disease in tilapia cause huge economic losses and threaten human food hygiene safety as well. To investigate the mechanism of S. agalactiae pathogenesis in tilapia and develop attenuated S. agalactiae vaccine, this study sequenced and comparatively analyzed the whole genomes of virulent wild-type S. agalactiae strain HN016 and its highly-passaged attenuated strain YM001 derived from tilapia. METHODS: We performed Illumina sequencing of DNA prepared from strain HN016 and YM001. Sequencedreads were assembled and nucleotide comparisons, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) , indels were analyzed between the draft genomes of HN016 and YM001. Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPRs) and prophage were detected and analyzed in different S. agalactiae strains. RESULTS: The genome of S. agalactiae YM001 was 2,047,957 bp with a GC content of 35.61 %; it contained 2044 genes and 88 RNAs. Meanwhile, the genome of S. agalactiae HN016 was 2,064,722 bp with a GC content of 35.66 %; it had 2063 genes and 101 RNAs. Comparative genome analysis indicated that compared with HN016, YM001 genome had two significant large deletions, at the sizes of 5832 and 11,116 bp respectively, resulting in the deletion of three rRNA and ten tRNA genes, as well as the deletion and functional damage of ten genes related to metabolism, transport, growth, anti-stress, etc. Besides these two large deletions, other ten deletions and 28 single nucleotide variations (SNVs) were also identified, mainly affecting the metabolism- and growth-related genes. CONCLUSIONS: The genome of attenuated S. agalactiae YM001 showed significant variations, resulting in the deletion of 10 functional genes, compared to the parental pathogenic strain HN016. The deleted and mutated functional genes all encode metabolism- and growth-related proteins, not the known virulence proteins, indicating that the metabolism- and growth-related genes are important for the pathogenesis of S. agalactiae.

Genome Sequence of Streptococcus agalactiae Strain H002, Serotype III, Isolated in China from a Pregnant Woman.

Here, we report the first whole-genome sequence of Streptococcus agalactiae strain H002, serotype III, isolated in China from a woman 32 weeks pregnant. This sequence represents an important addition to the published genomes and will promote comparative genomic studies of S. agalactiae spp. isolated from diverse regions, particularly when compared with Chinese strains.

Streptococcus agalactiae isolates of serotypes Ia, III and V from human and cow are able to infect tilapia.

Recent studies have shown that group B streptococcus (GBS) may be infectious across hosts. The purpose of this study is to investigate the pathogenicity of clinical GBS isolates with serotypes Ia, III and V from human and cow to tilapia and the evolutionary relationship among these GBS strains of different sources. A total of 27 clinical GBS isolates from human (n=10), cow (n=2) and tilapia (n=15) were analyzed using serotyping, multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Among them, 15 isolates were tested for their pathogenicity to tilapia. The results showed that five human GBS strains (2 serotype III, 2 serotype Ia and 1 serotype V) infected tilapia with mortality rate ranging from 56.67% to 100%, while the other five human GBS strains tested were unable to infect tilapia. In addition, two cow GBS strains C001 and C003 of serotype III infected tilapia. However, they had significantly lower pathogenicity than the five human strains. Furthermore, human GBS strains H005 and H008, which had very strong ability to infect tilapia, had the same PFGE pattern. MLST analysis showed that the five human and the two cow GBS strains that were able to infect tilapia belonged to clonal complexes CC19, CC23 and CC103. The study for the first time confirmed that human or cow GBS clonal complexes CC19, CC23 and CC103 containing strains with serotypes Ia, III and V could infect tilapia and induce clinical signs under experimental conditions.

Trancriptomic profiling revealed the signatures of acute immune response in tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) following Streptococcus iniae challenge.

Streptococcus iniae is the most significant bacterial disease of tilapia throughout the world, and commonly leads to tremendous economic losses. In contrast to other important fish species, our knowledge about the molecular mechanisms of tilapia in response to bacterial infection is still limited. Here, therefore, we utilized RNA-seq to first profiling of host responses in tilapia spleen following S. iniae infection at transcriptome level. A total of 223 million reads were obtained and assembled into 192,884 contigs with average length 844 bp. Gene expression analysis between control and infected samples at 5 h, 50 h, and 7 d revealed 1475 differentially expressed genes. In particular, the differentially expressed gene set was dramatically induced as early as 5 h, and rapidly declined to basal levels at 50 h. Enrichment and pathway analysis of the differentially expressed genes revealed the centrality of the pathogen attachment and recognition, cytoskeletal rearrangement and immune activation/inflammation in the pathogen entry and host inflammatory responses. Understanding of these responses can highlight mechanisms of tilapia host defense, and expand our knowledge of teleost immunology. Our findings will set a foundation of valuable biomarkers for future individual, strain, and family-level studies to evaluate immune effect of vaccine and individual response in host defense mechanisms to S. iniae infection, to select disease resistant families and strains.

Transcriptome analysis revealed positive selection of immune-related genes in tilapia.

High-throughput sequencing of transcriptome promises a new approach for detecting evolutionary divergence among species. Up to now, the information about evolution of immune genes in cultured fish, especially in tilapias which would aid to understand the molecular basis of immune phenotypic differentiation is still lack. Thus, in the present study, we used high-throughput sequencing to obtain large amount of gene sequences in blue tilapia and characterized the diversity of orthologs among Nile tilapia, blue tilapia and zebrafish. A total of 52,424,506 raw reads, representing 31,404 unigenes were obtained from blue tilapia cDNA library of mixed tissues, including brain, pituitary, gill, heart, liver, spleen, kidney, intestine, muscle, testis and ovary. Based on Ks value, we calculated that the divergence time between Nile tilapia and blue tilapia is 2.93 million years ago. And the tilapias are both apart from zebrafish in 197 million years ago. Furthermore, the positive selected genes were identified by calculating of Ka/Ks ratio. Several immune-related genes were identified as positively selected genes, such as Notch2 and nfatc3b. Considering that these genes play crucial role in immune regulating function, the immune system genes met a great variation under environment selection in tilapias which suggests fast evolution in immune system of cultured tilapias.

Immunological enhancement action of endotoxin-free tilapia heat shock protein 70 against Streptococcus iniae.

The immunological effects of heat shock proteins (HSPs) had been found in humans and mice, but scarce data of endotoxin-free Hsp70 were reported in tilapia. In the current study, we reported that tHsp70 alone and antigen-tHsp70 compound increased the proliferations of lymphocytes and macrophages, significantly increased the NO release and phagocytotic ability of macrophages (p<0.05), and enhanced the levels of immune-related genes in lymphocytes and macrophages in a dose- and/or time-dependent manner. On the other hand, tHsp70 not only helped to reduce the proliferation inhibitions induced by the ECP treatment, but also assisted antigens to enhance the vaccine-induced protection against Streptococcus iniae (p<0.05). We described, for the first time, a critical role of endotoxin-free tHsp70 on activation of tilapia lymphocytes and macrophages post S. iniae exposure and its up-regulation effects on vaccine-induced protection. Our research highlights the immunological enhancement action of Hsp70 in teleost immunity.

Seasonal changes and human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) effects on innate immune genes expression in goldfish (Carassius auratus).

We profiled the expression of a group of proinflammatory immune genes, comprising TNFα-1, TNFα-2, IFN-γ, IL1ß-1, IL1ß-2, CCL-1, and CXCL-8 in liver, head kidney, gills, and spleen of goldfish, during the reproductive cycle and in response to injection of the hormone human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG). Most genes showed higher expression during the breeding season in both sexes. However, activation of immune responses was much stronger in female goldfish. Injection with hCG, an analog of luteinizing hormone (LH), which is involved in numerous reproductive functions, markedly changed gene expression in most studied organs, in both male and female goldfish. Again, female goldfish were found to be more responsive than male goldfish. The strongest activation of these genes was seen 7 days post-injection; the effect was dose dependent with a lower dose being in general more effective. For several of the genes, the gills were the most responsive tissue and, in male goldfish, gills were often the only responsive tissue, suggesting an important immunological role for gills during breeding. The data suggest that increasing expression levels are regulated by LH arising during the breeding season, with greater sensitivity in female goldfish than in male goldfish. These data support an interaction between the innate immune system and the reproductive axis.

DNA methylation of pituitary growth hormone is involved in male growth superiority of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus).

Growth hormone (GH) and its receptors are critical regulators of somatic growth and metabolism. It has been shown in mammals that the methylation of cytosines within the GH promoter plays a key role in regulating transcripts expression. In the present study, the GH, GHR1 and GHR2 proximal promoters were identified and the methylation levels of these genes in corresponding tissues were assayed. The results suggested that significant arising of GH putative promoter methylation levels in pituitary was observed in females compared with males. However, no such sex-specific changes were found in GHR1 and GHR2 promoters. The GH mRNA expression also was influenced by GH promoter methylation levels in pituitary, which resulted in the higher growth rate of Nile tilapia males. Meanwhile, the methylation levels of GH putative promoter were negatively correlated with growth rate as well as mRNA expression of GH. Furthermore, the methylation of specific E-Box CpG site is also negatively related to the mRNA expression of GH in pituitary. Taken together, our data provide an epigenetic mechanism of explicating the sex duality in phenotypic plasticity of growth rate in male and female of Nile tilapia.

Identification and characterization of microRNAs in ovary and testis of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) by using solexa sequencing technology.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous non-coding small RNAs which play important roles in the regulation of gene expression by cleaving or inhibiting the translation of target gene transcripts. Thereinto, some specific miRNAs show regulatory activities in gonad development via translational control. In order to further understand the role of miRNA-mediated posttranscriptional regulation in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) ovary and testis, two small RNA libraries of Nile tilapia were sequenced by Solexa small RNA deep sequencing methods. A total of 9,731,431 and 8,880,497 raw reads, representing 5,407,800 and 4,396,281 unique sequences were obtained from the sexually mature ovaries and testes, respectively. After comparing the small RNA sequences with the Rfam database, 1,432,210 reads in ovaries and 984,146 reads in testes were matched to the genome sequence of Nile tilapia. Bioinformatic analysis identified 764 mature miRNA, 209 miRNA-5p and 202 miRNA-3p were found in the two libraries, of which 525 known miRNAs are both expressed in the ovary and testis of Nile tilapia. Comparison of expression profiles of the testis, miR-727, miR-129 and miR-29 families were highly expressed in tilapia ovary. Additionally, miR-132, miR-212, miR-33a and miR-135b families, showed significant higher expression in testis compared with that in ovary. Furthermore, the expression patterns of the miRNAs were analyzed in different developmental stages of gonad. The result showed different expression patterns were observed during development of testis and ovary. In addition, the identification and characterization of differentially expressed miRNAs in the ovaries and testis of Nile tilapia provides important information on the role of miRNA in the regulation of the ovarian and testicular development and function. This data will be helpful to facilitate studies on the regulation of miRNAs during teleosts reproduction.

[A new blind barbine species, Sinocyclocheilus anshuiensis sp. nov.(Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae)from Guangxi, China].

This study describes a new blind barbine fish species, Sinocyclocheilus anshuiensis sp. nov. discovered based on five specimens collected from a cave in Luolou town, Lingyun County, Guangxi, China, in June and July 2012. Sinocyclocheilus anshuiensis is distinguished from other species of Sinocyclocheilus by having the following combination of characteristics: dorsal fin with 7 branched rays, last unbranched dorsal-fin ray weak with serrations on posterior edge of its lower part; pelvic-fin origin anterior to dorsal-fin origin; dorsal profile of head sharply uplift, a forward flesh tuber present on frontal; body covered with scales, and lateral line with 34-38 scales, lateral line scales are as big as their neighbor scales; caudal peduncle with developed fresh crests.

Rare serotype occurrence and PFGE genotypic diversity of Streptococcus agalactiae isolated from tilapia in China.

Previously, we reported 10 PEGE types of 85 tilapia Streptococcus agalactiae (GBS), which shifted from Streptococcus iniae in China, by using PEGE method. Presently, larger and more representative tilapia GBS were isolated, for the first time in China, to characterize their serotypes and genetic diversities more precisely than had done before. 168 GBS strains were distributed in five provinces of China, in which Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan were the major ones, holding 36.9% (62/168), 37.5% (63/168) and 19.6% (33/168), respectively. Serotypes, Ia, Ib and III, were observed in these strains and the most predominant one was Ia (95.2%), which mainly distributed in Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan. Ia initially occurred in 2009, it shoot up to 32.1% in 2010, but decreased to 16.1% in 2011 before went up to 45.2% in 2012. Ib sporadically occurred during 2007-2011, III only occurred in 2012. 14 different PFGE types, including 4 new types (N, O, P and Q), were observed, in which B, D, F and G were the predominant types, holding 83.9% (141/168) of the total GBS strains. Ia corresponded to 11 PFGE types (A-H, N-P), in which type D predominated (51%). Ib represented 3 genotypes (I, J and Q) and III harbored only 2 genotypes (N and F). Type N and F synchronously presented in Ia and III. In summary, the genetic diversity of tilapia GBS varied by serotypes and changed with geographical locations and years. Although Ia still predominated, new rare serotype III already occurred in China.

Suppression effect of LHRH-A and hCG on Piwi expression in testis of Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus.

Piwi proteins as constituent factors of the piRNA pathway are required for germline maintenance, meiosis and gonad development. Previous study showed hCG could regulate the Piwi expression in ovary of teleosts. In this study, we revealed effects of LHRH-A and hCG on Piwi expression in testis of tilapia using Real-time PCR and Western blot. Both in vivo and in vitro study suggest that LHRH-A and hCG significantly down-regulated Piwil-1 and Piwil-2 in mRNA or protein levels compared with controls. Meanwhile, tissue and cell distribution showed that Piwi proteins were mainly expressed in spermatocytes rather than mature sperms. These results indicated that HPG suppresses Piwis which may play a crucial role in testis differentiation and development.

Effects of fluoride on liver apoptosis and Bcl-2, Bax protein expression in freshwater teleost, Cyprinus carpio.

Fish take up fluoride directly from water and are the target organisms for fluoride pollution in the aquatic ecosystems. This study was conducted to evaluate oxidative stress, histopathological changes, apoptosis and Bcl-2, Bax expression in the livers of the common carp (Cyprinus carpio) chronically exposed to fluoride. Our results showed that after 90 d of exposure, the inhibition of SOD, GSH activities and a dose-dependent stimulation of MDA levels in the liver tissues indicated that fluoride caused oxidative stress in the fish. Microscopic examinations showed that damages to the liver tissues and cell organelles in the liver tissues increased with exposure concentration. A positive correlation was observed between the apoptosis index and fluoride levels in the livers (r=0.995). There was a negative correlation between the fluoride concentration of water and the expression of Bcl-2, Bcl-2/Bax (r=-0.98, r=-0.96). A positive correlation was showed between the fluoride concentration of water and the expression of Bax (r=0.96) after 90 d of exposure. Our results suggested that the common carp could tolerate relatively high levels of fluoride but adverse effects of fluoride occurred in the livers of the fish after 90 d of exposure. The apoptosis of liver cells had an important causative role in the process of fluoride-induced pathological changes of liver.

Molecular cloning of vasa gene and the effects of LHRH-A on its expression in blue tilapia Oreochromis aureus.

The full length of vasa cDNA in blue tilapia Oreochromis aureus was cloned and sequenced using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE). Nucleotide sequence analysis revealed that the cDNA contained 2,143 bp and was consisted of a 48-bp 5' untranslated terminal region (5'-UTR), a 157-bp 3' untranslated terminal region (3'-UTR) and a 1,938-bp open reading frame (ORF) which encoded 645 amino acids. Homological protein analysis showed that vasa in O. aureus was highly conserved with Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus. Tissue distribution expression analysis indicated that vasa was specifically expressed in the gonads. Using in situ hybridization, we found that vasa was expressed in spermatogonia and spermatocytes rather than spermatids and sperm. In order to examine the influence of luteinizing hormone releasing hormone analog (LHRH-A) on vasa, the in vivo injections were performed different concentrations of LHRH-A. Our results showed that LHRH-A induced meiosis and down-regulated vasa mRNA expression. In summary, our results showed that vasa was specifically expressed in gonads and LHRH-A inhibited vasa expression in the testis. Our results also suggested that LHRH-A could regulate vasa gene expression in O. aureus testis.

Screening vaccine candidate strains against Streptococcus agalactiae of tilapia based on PFGE genotype.

The immunogenicity identification of epidemic strain is important for the development and application of vaccine. In this study, 85 Streptococcus agalactiae prevalent strains from the tilapia main cultured areas of China were distributed among 10 distinct PFGE genotypes (A-J). For each genotype, one representative strain (S.a(A)-S.a(J)) was selected to develop an inactivated whole-cell bacterial vaccine (V(A)-V(J)), which then underwent a protective immunity test. V(A)-V(J) showed similar relative percent survival (RPS) to the homologous or heterologous strains with the identical genotype, while the average RPS among V(A)-V(J) protecting against itself genotype strains showed large differences (44.71-98.81%). The RPS of V(A)-V(J) vaccinated fish against infections by the mixture of S.a(A)-S.a(J) at 15 days post vaccination (dpv) was ranged from 13.33% to 60.00%, and V(B), V(D), V(F), and V(G) showed the highest RPS of 60.00%, 46.67%, 53.33% and 60.00% respectively. V(B), V(D) and V(G) have their own specific protection scope, V(B) showed strong protective immunity to infections caused by A-D, F, G and J (53.57-100%), and V(G) showed strong protective immunity to C-H and J (50.00-100%), whereas V(D) showed weak protective immunity to all non-self genotype strains (14.81-36.67%). The results of the combined vaccination showed that V(G)+V(B) group had wider protection scope and higher RPS value than V(G)+V(D) group. Our results demonstrated that the protective immunity of S. agalactiae from tilapia was not only associated with their serotypes, but also related to their PFGE genotypes. It is difficult to acquire a single vaccine candidate strain that can protect against all genotype strains from the same serotype.