Isolation of a Vibrio parahaemolyticus pandemic strain from a marine water sample obtained in the northern Adriatic

ABSTRACT The Vibrio parahaemolyticus O3:K6 pandemic clonal strain was first observed in southern Chile in 2004 and has since caused approximately 8,000 seafood-related diarrhea cases in this region. The massive proliferation of the original clonal population offers a unique opportunity to study the evolution of a bacterial pathogen in its natural environment by detection and characterization of emerging bacterial variants. Here, we describe a group of pandemic variants characterized by the presence of a 42-kb extrachromosomal DNA that can be recovered by alkaline extraction. Upon treatment with mitomycin C, these variants lyse with production of a myovirus containing DNA of equal size to the plasmid but which cannot be recovered by alkaline extraction. Plasmid and phage DNAs show similar restriction patterns corresponding to enzyme sites in a circular permutation. Sequenced regions showed 81 to 99% nucleotide similarity to bacteriophage VHML of Vibrio harveyi. Altogether these observations indicate that the 42-kb plasmid corresponds to a prophage, consisting of a linear DNA with terminal hairpins of a telomeric temperate phage with a linear genome. Bacteria containing the prophage were 7 to 15 times more sensitive to UV radiation, likely due to phage induction by UV irradiation as plasmid curing restored the original sensitivity. The enhanced UV sensitivity could have a significant role in reducing the survival and propagation capability of the V. parahaemolyticus pandemic strain in the ocean.

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Distribution of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in Marine Water, Sediments and Marine Invertebrates Collected from Rameswaram Island, Tamil Nadu, India

Current Research in Bacteriology ◽

10.3923/crb.2008.35.41 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. 35-41

Author(s):

M. Kandhasamy ◽

K.D. Arunachala

Keyword(s):

Vibrio Parahaemolyticus ◽

Tamil Nadu ◽

Marine Invertebrates ◽

Marine Water

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The first outbreak of acute diarrhea due to a pandemic strain of Vibrio parahaemolyticus O3:K6 in Kolkata, India

International Journal of Infectious Diseases ◽

10.1016/j.ijid.2005.11.008 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 185-187 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

B. Sen ◽

B. Dutta ◽

S. Chatterjee ◽

M.K. Bhattacharya ◽

R.K. Nandy ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Acute Diarrhea ◽

Vibrio Parahaemolyticus ◽

Pandemic Strain

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Inhibitory activity of Thai condiments on pandemic strain of Vibrio parahaemolyticus

Food Microbiology ◽

10.1016/j.fm.2006.04.010 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 24 (4) ◽

pp. 413-418 ◽

Cited By ~ 34

Author(s):

Varaporn Vuddhakul ◽

Phuangthip Bhoopong ◽

Fadeeya Hayeebilan ◽

Sanan Subhadhirasakul

Keyword(s):

Inhibitory Activity ◽

Vibrio Parahaemolyticus ◽

Pandemic Strain

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Seasonal distribution of bdellovibrios at the mouth of the Patuxent River in the Chesapeake Bay

Canadian Journal of Microbiology ◽

10.1139/m82-011 ◽

1982 ◽

Vol 28 (1) ◽

pp. 111-116 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Henry N. Williams ◽

William A. Falkler Jr. ◽

Donald E. Shay

Keyword(s):

Seasonal Variation ◽

Water Sample ◽

Water Temperature ◽

Chesapeake Bay ◽

Water Samples ◽

Vibrio Parahaemolyticus ◽

Seasonal Distribution ◽

Bacterial Counts ◽

Patuxent River

Water samples taken at monthly intervals from three sites in the mouth of the Patuxent River in the Chesapeake Bay were cultured for bdellovibrios lytic to Vibrio parahaemolyticus and for total viable bacterial counts. The number of bdellovibrios recovered decreased from the spring months (April, May, June (AMJ)) until very few were detected during the winter months (January, February, March (JFM)), which also coincided with the lowest water temperatures. During the AMJ season there was a significant increase as compared with the JFM season in the number of bdellovibrios for all sites. The highest number of bdellovibrios was recovered during each season from the shoreline water sample, with one exception. The seasonal variation in the number of bdellovibrios was observed to correlate statistically with the water temperature.

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