title: Environmental investigation of potentially pathogenic Vibrio parahaemolyticus in the Seto-Inland Sea, Japan.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Hygiene, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University, Tsushima, 700-8530, Okayama, Japan. alammj30@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Muhammad Jahangir
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Alam
authors.forename: Ken Ichi
authors.initials: KI
authors.lastname: Tomochika
authors.forename: Shin Ichi
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Miyoshi
authors.forename: Sumio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shinoda
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: 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