title: Occurrence of virulence genes among Vibrio cholerae and Vibrio parahaemolyticus strains from treated wastewaters.
abstract: Pathogenic Vibrio species are an important cause of foodborne illnesses. The aim of this study was to describe the occurrence of potentially pathogenic Vibrio species in the final effluents of a wastewater treatment plant and the risk that they may pose to public health. During the 1-year monitoring, a total of 43 Vibrio strains were isolated: 23 Vibrio alginolyticus, 1 Vibrio cholerae, 4 Vibrio vulnificus, and 15 Vibrio parahaemolyticus. The PCR investigation of V. parahaemolyticus and V. cholerae virulence genes (tlh, trh, tdh, toxR, toxS, toxRS, toxT, zot, ctxAB, tcp, ace, vpi, nanH) revealed the presence of some of these genes in a significant number of strains. Intraspecies variability and genetic relationships among the environmental isolates were analyzed by random amplified polymorphic DNA-PCR (RAPD-PCR). We report the results of the first isolation and characterization of an environmental V. cholerae non-O1 non-O139 and of a toxigenic V. parahaemolyticus strain in Tunisia. We suggest that non-pathogenic Vibrio might represent a marine reservoir of virulence genes that can be transmitted between strains by horizontal transfer.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire d'Analyse, Traitement et Valorisation des Polluants de l'Environnement et des Produits, Département de Microbiologie, Faculté de Pharmacie, Rue Avicenne, 5000, Monastir, Tunisia, khouadja_sadok@yahoo.fr.
authors.forename: Sadok
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Khouadja
authors.forename: Elisabetta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Suffredini
authors.forename: Besma
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Baccouche
authors.forename: Luciana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Croci
authors.forename: Amina
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bakhrouf
mesh_terms: D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014416:Tunisia; D014734:Vibrio cholerae / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification; D014736:Vibrio parahaemolyticus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification; D014774:Virulence / Q000235:genetics; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid; D062065:Wastewater / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D062065:Wastewater