Genotyping and distribution of virulence factors in V. parahaemolyticus from seafood and environmental sources, South-west coast of India
2017
Silvester, Reshma | Madhavan, Ajin | Antony, Ally | Alexander, Deborah | Santha, Sudha | Francis, Bini | Hatha, Mohamed
Vibrio parahaemolyticus,found naturally in warm coastal and estuarine waters worldwide is a leading cause of seafood-borne gastroenteritis and mass mortality among marine fishes and invertebrates. The present study focused on genotyping and virulence characterization of V. parahaemolyticus isolated from food and environmental sources along the South west coast of India, for surveillance of possible public health risk. Molecular typing was performed using ERIC-PCR. The potential pathogenicity of the strains was evaluated by screening for presence of type III secretion systems (T3SSs) genes. The presence of extracellular enzymes was also investigated Results revealed high level of genetic heterogeneity among the V. parahaemolyticus strains. Urease and hemolysin production observed in few strains is to be highlighted, since these phenotypic features are typical for clinical isolates of V. parahaemolyticus. All the strains carried the T3SS1 gene. T3SS2 β gene was present in majority of the strains whereas, T3SS2 α gene was not detected in any. Presence of genetically heterogeneous V. parahaemolyticus strains with virulence potential predicts high risk of disease outbreak associated with this pathogen in Cochin. The study emphasizes the need for a continuous surveillance of water systems in Cochin estuary and adjoining aquaculture farms.
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