Analysis of Major Virulence Genes in Vibrio Parahaemolyticus Isolates from Coastal Areas in Zhejiang Province

Abstract:

Several aquatic species and their enviroments were examined for presence of Vibrio parahaemolyticus between 2007 and 2008 in the coastal areas in Zhejiang province, and some virulence-related genes such as tdh, trh, ureC and vscC2 were investigated from the isolates. V. parahaemolyticus was recovered from 70% of the samples tested (395/566). The genes tdh, trh and ureC existed in 10.1%, 20.0% and 11.1% respectively from 395 isolates. Among the 40 tdh-positive isolates, 32.5% harbored the vscC2 gene, one of the type three secretion system 2 (T3SS2) gene family. Thirty-eight of the 40 tdh-positive isolates were positive for the Kanagawa phenomenon. Out of 44 trh-and-ureC-positive isolates, only six exhibited urease phenotype. Overall, this study reveals the significant prevalence of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in seafoods and their habitats with high diversity of virulence genes. Representative V. parahaemolyticus isolates could be used for further investigation into their pathongenecity, functional genomics, and molecular evolution.