title: Occurrence of urease-positive Vibrio parahaemolyticus in Kanagawa, Japan, with specific reference to presence of thermostable direct hemolysin (TDH) and the TDH-related-hemolysin genes.
abstract: A total of 132 strains of V. parahaemolyticus isolated from patients and from the suspected causal food items of past food poisoning cases occurring in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, were examined for the ability to hydrolyze urea, with specific reference to the presence of the thermostable direct hemolysin gene (tdh) and the gene for thermostable direct hemolysin-related hemolysin (trh). Ten strains belonging to five different O-antigen serotypes were positive for urea hydrolysis (UH+), and four of these strains did not carry tdh. A total of 106 strains carried tdh, but less than 6% of them were UH+, whereas all trh-carrying strains were UH+. The evidence suggests that urea hydrolysis is not a reliable marker for identifying tdh-carrying V. parahaemolyticus strains in Japan (the Pacific Northeast) but may be a marker for trh-carrying strains.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bacteriology and Pathology, Kanagawa Prefectural Public Health Laboratories, Japan.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Osawa
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Okitsu
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Morozumi
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamai
mesh_terms: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D001483:Base Sequence; D015342:DNA Probes / Q000235:genetics; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D005517:Foodborne Diseases / Q000382:microbiology; D005759:Gastroenteritis / Q000382:microbiology; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D005838:Genotype; D006460:Hemolysin Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010641:Phenotype; D012703:Serotyping; D014510:Urease / Q000378:metabolism*; D014735:Vibrio Infections / Q000382:microbiology; D014736:Vibrio parahaemolyticus / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D015342:DNA Probes; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D006460:Hemolysin Proteins; C088609:thermostable direct hemolysin-related hemolysin protein, Vibrio parahaemolyticus; C068489:thermostable direct hemolysin; D014510:Urease