Occurrence and virulence properties of Vibrio and Salinivibrio isolates from tropical lagoons of the southern Caribbean Sea.
The Vibrionaceae are Gram-negative bacteria present in marine and estuarine environments worldwide, including several species known as important pathogens to humans and aquatic organisms. The aim of this research was to investigate the occurrence and virulence properties of Vibrio and Salinivibrio isolated from lagoons at Cuare Wildlife Refuge and Margarita Island in the southern Caribbean Sea. Water, plankton and oyster samples were collected during October 2011 and March 2012 and examined by specific PCR and culture methods. Vibrio genus DNA was detected in 95% of samples, while the intergenic spacer region (ISR) of Vibrio cholerae and the genes that code for the thermolabile direct haemolysin (tl) of Vibrio parahaemolyticus and the haemolysin/cytolysin (vvhA) of Vibrio vulnificus were absent or amplified in low proportions (23, 5, and 0%, respectively). Nine isolates from water and plankton were confirmed as Vibrio or Salinivibrio by phenotypic tests, 16S rRNA gene sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. All the isolates presented similar patterns of virulence factors, in which the genes ctxA (encoding for cholera toxin), tl and vvhA were lacking, whereas seven isolates displayed antibiotic resistance against ampicillin and cephalosporins. The 16S rRNA phylogenetic analysis showed the clustering of Vibrio isolates in three main clades: the plankton isolate from Cuare Wildlife Refuge formed a group with V. cholerae and Vibrio mimicus while the Margarita isolates clustered with sequences from the harveyi clade and Salinivibrio. This is the first time that Salinivibrio species are reported in tropical lagoons of the Caribbean Sea with antibiotic resistance.
Centro de Biofísica y Bioquímica, Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas (IVIC), Altos de Pipe, Venezuela.|Centro de Ingeniería de Materiales y Nanotecnología, IVIC, Altos de Pipe, Venezuela.
Milagro
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6396-4681
M
Fernández-Delgado
Departamento de Biología de Organismos, Universidad Simón Bolívar (USB), Caracas, Venezuela.
Paula
P
Suárez
Instituto de Zoología y Ecología Tropical, Universidad Central de Venezuela, Caracas, Venezuela.
Sandra
S
Giner
Centro de Ecología, IVIC, Altos de Pipe, Venezuela.
Virginia
V
Sanz
Centro de Biofísica y Bioquímica, Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas (IVIC), Altos de Pipe, Venezuela.
Jessy
J
Peña
Centro de Biofísica y Bioquímica, Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas (IVIC), Altos de Pipe, Venezuela.
Damarys
D
Sánchez
Centro de Biofísica y Bioquímica, Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas (IVIC), Altos de Pipe, Venezuela. magarcia@ivic.gob.ve.
M Alexandra
MA
García-Amado
D000818:Animals; D017691:Caribbean Region; D006801:Humans; D010802:Phylogeny; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D012623:Seawater; D014329:Tropical Climate; D014733:Vibrio / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D014774:Virulence; D014871:Water Microbiology
D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
Antibiotic resistance; Caribbean Sea; Salinivibrio; Tropical lagoons; Vibrio; Virulence factors