RT-qPCR. In order to evaluate the occurrence of some
important pathogenic or opportunistic bacteria in the larval
microflora a targeted RT-qPCR was performed using primers
amplifying a region of the 16S rDNA specific for Vibrio spp., Aeromonas
spp and Flavobacteria spp. (Table 1). The proportional
occurrence of these bacteria was calculated in relation to the overall
bacterial load evaluated using a universal bacteria primer (Table 1)
as described earlier [48].