Clonality and diversity of the fish pathogen Lactococcus garvieae in Mediterranean countries.
Infection with Lactococcus garvieae is considered the most important risk factor for the European trout industry, and the losses are approximately 50% of the total production. To improve our understanding of the genetic links among strains originating from different countries, we examined the population structure of L. garvieae by comparing 81 strains isolated from different sources and ecosystems (41 farms in six countries) in which the bacterium is commonly found. Genetic similarities (as assessed with molecular tools, including restriction fragment length polymorphism ribotyping with two endonucleases) were compared with serological data. The combined results reveal that in endemic sites the bacterial population displays a clonal structure, whereas bacterial diversity characterizes sites where the infection is sporadic.
Eyngor
Marina
M
Department of Poultry and Fish Diseases, The Kimron Veterinary Institute, POB 12, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel.
Zlotkin
Amir
A
Ghittino
Claudio
C
Prearo
Marino
M
Douet
Diane-Gaëlle
DG
Chilmonczyk
Stefan
S
Eldar
Avi
A
D000818:Animals; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000235:genetics; D017753:Ecosystem; D005393:Fish Diseases / Q000382:microbiology; D005399:Fishes / Q000382:microbiology*; D017045:Lactococcus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D019083:Mediterranean Region; D010802:Phylogeny; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D015183:Restriction Mapping
D004275:DNA, Ribosomal