title: Comparison of genetic characteristics and pathogenicity of Lactococcus garvieae isolated from aquatic animals in Taiwan.
abstract: Seventy-six Taiwanese bacterial isolates including 74 from diseased, cultured, aquatic animals (54 grey mullet Mugil cephalus, 3 basket mullet Chelon alatus, 2 tilapia Oreochromis niloticus, 1 grouper Epinephelus coioides, 2 yellowfin seabream Acanthopagrus latus, 1 Borneo mullet Chelon macrolepis, 1 bullfrog Rana catesbeiana, 1 Japanese eel Anguilla japonica, and 9 giant freshwater prawns Macrobrachium rosenbergii), 1 wild-caught seafood species (squid muscle collected from a restaurant) and 1 human isolate (from a patient with a history of consuming raw squid in the previously mentioned restaurant), all collected between 1999 and 2006, were confirmed by PCR assay to be Lactococcus garvieae. The phenotypic characterization was determined by rabbit anti-KG+ and KG- serums, and 74 of the 76 Taiwanese strains displayed a KG- phenotype. The genetic characterization was investigated by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Genomic DNA was digested with restriction endonucleases ApaI and SmaI and separated by PFGE. Ten different L. garvieae pulsotypes were identified. Predominant pulsotypes A1a/S1a were obtained from >96% of strains (52 of 54) from grey mullet, demonstrating a clonal dissemination of L. garvieae in grey mullet in Taiwan. In experimental challenges with grey mullet and tilapia, L. garvieae pulsotypes A1/S1 and A11/S11 showed higher virulence compared with other pulsotypes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medicine, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Pingtung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ming-An
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.forename: Pei-Chyi
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Li-Ling
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Liaw
authors.forename: Terutoyo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.forename: Shih-Chu
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000372:Agglutination Tests; D000818:Animals; D049832:Decapodiformes / Q000382:microbiology; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field; D005393:Fish Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D005399:Fishes; D005516:Food Microbiology; D016908:Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D017045:Lactococcus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology