A highly homologous 68 kbp plasmid found in Vibrio vulnificus strains virulent for eels.
Vibrio vulnificus serovar E (biotype 2) strains are virulent for eels and have also been reported to cause illness in humans. Studies on the plasmid content of serovar E strains revealed the existence of a plasmid of approximately 70 kbp present in most of these strains. In this study we characterized the 70 kbp plasmids of seven biotype 2 strains isolated from seawater, diseased eels and wound infections in humans. We determined the exact size of the high molecular weight plasmids to be 68 kbp. A comparison of the plasmids of the seven strains by restriction length polymorphism and hybridization analysis showed them to be almost identical.
Lewin
A
A
Robert Koch-Institut, Nordufer 20, D-13353 Berlin, Germany. Lewina@RKI.de
Bert
B
B
Dalsgaard
A
A
Appel
B
B
Høi
L
L
D000818:Animals; D004524:Eels; D005393:Fish Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization; D010957:Plasmids / Q000235:genetics*; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D012703:Serotyping; D014733:Vibrio / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D014735:Vibrio Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D014774:Virulence / Q000235:genetics