title: Genetic characterization of Vibrio vulnificus strains isolated from oyster samples in Mexico.
abstract: Vibrio vulnificus strains were isolated from oysters that were collected at the main seafood market in Mexico City. Strains were characterized with regard to vvhA, vcg genotype, PFGE, multilocus sequence typing (MLST), and rtxA1. Analyses included a comparison with rtxA1 reference sequences. Environmental (vcgE) and clinical (vcgC) genotypes were isolated at nearly equal percentages. PFGE had high heterogeneity, but the strains clustered by vcgE or vcgC genotype. Select housekeeping genes for MLST and primers that were designed for rtxA1 domains divided the strains into two clusters according to the E or C genotype. Reference rtxA1 sequences and those from this study were also clustered according to genotype. These results confirm that this genetic dimorphism is not limited to vcg genotyping, as other studies have reported. Some environmental C genotype strains had high similarity to reference strains, which have been reported to be virulent, indicating a potential risk for oyster consumers in Mexico City.
authors: a Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada Baja California (CICESE), Marine Biotechnology , Ensenada , Mexico.
authors: Abraham
authors: A
authors: Guerrero
authors: b CIAD, Research Center for Food and Development A.C. Mazatlán Unit., Aquaculture and Environmental Management , Mazatlán , México.
authors: Bruno
authors: B
authors: Gómez Gil Rodríguez
authors: c Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), ICMyL. Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología , México , México.
authors: Irma
authors: I
authors: Wong-Chang
authors: a Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada Baja California (CICESE), Marine Biotechnology , Ensenada , Mexico.
authors: Marcial Leonardo
authors: ML
authors: Lizárraga-Partida
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008800:Mexico; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D058885:Multilocus Sequence Typing; D010125:Ostreidae / Q000382:microbiology*; D010802:Phylogeny; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D041261:Vibrio vulnificus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins
keywords: MLST; PFGE; Vibrio vulnificus; oyster pathogens; rtxA1