Abstract
A comparative analysis of different bacterial communities isolated from the muscles of salted wild bluespot mullet (Valamugil seheli) was performed by the phenotypic, biochemical and 16S rDNA gene sequences analysis. The bacterial composition of the salted mullet was dominated by consisting mainly of Gram-positive bacteria. The isolated bacterial species were Bacillus sp., Chryseobacterium sp., Kocuria sp., Macrococcus sp., Micrococcus sp., Psychobacter sp., Rothia sp., Salinicoccus sp., Streptococcus sp., and Vagococcus sp. The most dominant bacteria isolated from the salted mullet were Psychobacter sp. (32.26%), Rothia endophytica (26.88%), Vagococcus carniphilus (11.82%), Micrococcus flavus (10.75%) and Streptococcus sp. (7.53%). We therefore conclude that the dominant bacterial community can be an important safety parameter and could be used as baseline in future studies to determine the relationship between the isolated bacterial strains and the spoilage potential.