Environmental investigation of potentially pathogenic Vibrio parahaemolyticus in the Seto-Inland Sea, Japan.
Seawater and organic material (live and/or dead matter deposited on any substratum submersed in seawater) were collected during the cool weather season from a coast of the Seto-Inland Sea, Japan, and analyzed to determine Vibrio parahaemolyticus densities and the occurrence of pathogenic strains, defined as those possessing tdh and/or trh genes by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), using isolated DNA from enrichment culture of the samples. About 95% of the samples were positive for V. parahaemolyticus (with densities of 3 to >1400 cells per 100 ml water or 10 g organic samples) by the most-probable-number (MPN)-PCR technique with species-specific toxR primers, but only 40% were positive by the conventional MPN-culture technique (with densities ranging from 3 to 240 cells per 100 ml water or 10 g organics). Furthermore, the tdh and trh genes were positive in 55% and 20% of samples, respectively, by the MPN-PCR technique. No tdh and trh gene-positive strains were isolated by the conventional MPN-culture procedure. The difference in detection between the MPN-culture and the MPN-PCR techniques appeared to be significant and may be attributed to different detection sensitivities and other factors.
Alam
Muhammad Jahangir
MJ
Department of Environmental Hygiene, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University, Tsushima, 700-8530, Okayama, Japan. alammj30@hotmail.com
Tomochika
Ken Ichi
KI
Miyoshi
Shin Ichi
SI
Shinoda
Sumio
S
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics; D006460:Hemolysin Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D007564:Japan; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012623:Seawater / Q000382:microbiology*; D014736:Vibrio parahaemolyticus / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D014774:Virulence / Q000235:genetics
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D006460:Hemolysin Proteins; C088609:thermostable direct hemolysin-related hemolysin protein, Vibrio parahaemolyticus; C068489:thermostable direct hemolysin