title: The Fish Pathogen Vibrio vulnificus Biotype 2: Epidemiology, Phylogeny, and Virulence Factors Involved in Warm-Water Vibriosis.
abstract: Vibrio vulnificus biotype 2 is the etiological agent of warm-water vibriosis, a disease that affects eels and other teleosts, especially in fish farms. Biotype 2 is polyphyletic and probably emerged from aquatic bacteria by acquisition of a transferable virulence plasmid that encodes resistance to innate immunity of eels and other teleosts. Interestingly, biotype 2 comprises a zoonotic clonal complex designated as serovar E that has extended worldwide. One of the most interesting virulence factors produced by serovar E is RtxA13, a multifunctional protein that acts as a lethal factor for fish, an invasion factor for mice, and a survival factor outside the host. Two practically identical copies of rtxA13 are present in all biotype 2 strains regardless of the serovar, one in the virulence plasmid and the other in chromosome II. The plasmid also contains other genes involved in survival and growth in eel blood: vep07, a gene for an outer membrane (OM) lipoprotein involved in resistance to eel serum and vep20, a gene for an OM receptor specific for eel-transferrin and, probably, other related fish transferrins. All the three genes are highly conserved within biotype 2, which suggests that they are under a strong selective pressure. Interestingly, the three genes are related with transferable plasmids, which emphasizes the role of horizontal gene transfer in the evolution of V. vulnificus in nutrient-enriched aquatic environments, such as fish farms.
authors.affiliation: Estructura de Investigación Multidisciplinar en Biotecnología y BioMedicina (ERI BioTecMed), Department of Microbiology and Ecology, University of Valencia, 46100 Valencia, Spain.
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Amaro
authors.affiliation: Estructura de Investigación Multidisciplinar en Biotecnología y BioMedicina (ERI BioTecMed), Department of Microbiology and Ecology, University of Valencia, 46100 Valencia, Spain.
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sanjuán
authors.affiliation: Estructura de Investigación Multidisciplinar en Biotecnología y BioMedicina (ERI BioTecMed), Department of Microbiology and Ecology, University of Valencia, 46100 Valencia, Spain.
authors.forename: Belén
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fouz
authors.affiliation: Estructura de Investigación Multidisciplinar en Biotecnología y BioMedicina (ERI BioTecMed), Department of Microbiology and Ecology, University of Valencia, 46100 Valencia, Spain.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pajuelo
authors.affiliation: Institute of Basic Medical Sciences and Department of Microbiology and Immunology, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan, Republic of China.
authors.forename: Chung-Te
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Institute of Basic Medical Sciences and Department of Microbiology and Immunology, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan, Republic of China.
authors.forename: Lien-I
authors.initials: LI
authors.lastname: Hor
authors.affiliation: Valenciana de Acuicultura S.A.
authors.forename: Rodolfo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Barrera
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001427:Bacterial Toxins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D004524:Eels / Q000382:microbiology*; D005393:Fish Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000635:transmission; D022761:Gene Transfer, Horizontal; D006801:Humans; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D051379:Mice; D010802:Phylogeny; D010957:Plasmids / Q000235:genetics; D011990:Receptors, Transferrin / Q000378:metabolism; D014735:Vibrio Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000635:transmission; D041261:Vibrio vulnificus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014871:Water Microbiology
chemical_list: D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D011990:Receptors, Transferrin; D037521:Virulence Factors