嗜水气单胞菌感染对背角无齿蚌5种免疫相关酶活力的影响

本研究以背角无齿蚌为材料,利用嗜水气单胞菌为诱导刺激物,对背角无齿蚌进行注射感染,在注射后3、6、12 、24、48h分别取血淋巴、肝胰腺,测定其超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）、酚氧化酶 (PO)、酸性磷酸酶 (ACP)、碱性磷酸酶 (AKP) 及过氧化氢酶 (CAT) 的活力,并研究各项酶活力的变化规律。结果表明：除3h肝胰腺外,实验组的SOD活力均不同程度地高于对照组;血清实验组的PO活力开始显著高于对照组,然后降低,而肝胰腺实验组的PO活力持续高于对照组;另外,与对照组相比,实验组中血淋巴与肝胰腺的ACP、AKP和CAT活力在不同的时间段虽然有所增强,但两者之间无显著差异。因此,认为SOD、PO活性可以作为背角无齿蚌免疫抗病功能指标参数,而ACP、AKP及CAT活性能否作为该参数还有待于进一步研究。     

高盐胁迫对凡纳滨对虾消化及免疫相关酶活力的影响

为探讨高盐对凡纳滨对虾(Litopenaeus vannamei)消化及免疫相关酶活力的影响,实验设置了30、40、50、60共4个盐度梯度。对虾体长(7.84±0.68)cm,养殖密度333尾/m~3,每个梯度设3个平行,实验周期30d。取血淋巴、肌肉、肝胰腺等组织,检测其超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)、过氧化氢酶(CAT)、碱性磷酸酶(AKP)和酸性磷酸酶(ACP)及蛋白酶、脂肪酶、淀粉酶活力。结果表明,盐度显著影响凡纳滨对虾肝胰脏中胃蛋白酶、脂肪酶、淀粉酶的活力(P0.05);随着盐度增加,消化相关酶活力均不断下降,处理间差异显著(P0.05);盐度对凡纳滨对虾不同组织的免疫指标产生影响,表现为随着盐度升高,血淋巴中,AKP活力逐渐升高,ACP、CAT和SOD活力均表现为先升高后降低;肌肉中,AKP、ACP和SOD活力呈现先升高后降低的变化趋势;肝胰脏中,AKP活力呈现先降低后升高再降低的变化趋势,ACP活力高盐处理间差异不显著(P0.05),CAT活力先降低后升高,SOD活力盐度40后逐渐降低。实验结果初步说明,高盐显著影响凡纳滨对虾的消化及免疫相关酶活力,且盐度对不同组织中免疫酶活力影响存在一定的组织特异性,50以上的高盐胁迫对对虾消化和免疫相关酶活力的影响尤为显著。     

不同细菌刺激后仿刺参体腔液中免疫相关酶的应答变化

为了解不同细菌刺激后仿刺参(Apostichopus japonicus)体腔液中免疫因子的应答变化,分别用灿烂弧菌(Vibrio splendidus)、哈维氏弧菌(V.harveyi)、假交替单胞菌(Pseudoalteromonas nigrifacien)、溶壁微球菌(Micrococcus lysodeikticus)和停乳链球菌(Streptococcus dysgadysgalactiae)注射刺激仿刺参,然后分别采用对硝基苯基磷酸酯(p NPP)底物法、氯化硝基四氮唑蓝(NBT)法、溶壁微球菌粉法和多巴络合物生成法对体腔液上清中的酸性磷酸酶(ACP)与碱性磷酸酶(AKP)、超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)、溶菌酶(LYZ)和酚氧化酶(PO)的活力进行了测定。结果显示,灿烂弧菌刺激后,酸性磷酸酶和碱性磷酸酶活力显著升高,而超氧化物歧化酶、溶菌酶和酚氧化酶活力显著降低;哈维氏弧菌刺激后,酸性磷酸酶、超氧化物歧化酶、溶菌酶和酚氧化酶活力显著升高,碱性磷酸酶活力变化不规律;假交替单胞菌刺激后,酸性磷酸酶、溶菌酶和酚氧化酶活力显著升高,超氧化物歧化酶活力先升高后降低,碱性磷酸酶活力变化不规律;溶壁微球菌刺激后,酸性磷酸酶和酚氧化酶活力显著升高,超氧化物歧化酶活力先升高后降低,溶菌酶活力先升高后降低,而后在72 h恢复至对照水平,碱性磷酸酶活力变化不规律;停乳链球菌刺激后,除碱性磷酸酶活力在4 h有所下降外,其余免疫相关酶活力均显著升高。研究结果表明,酚氧化酶是仿刺参非特异性免疫系统中最敏感、高效的免疫因子之一;革兰氏阳性细菌与革兰氏阴性细菌之间在诱导仿刺参免疫因子应答变化上无明显规律性差异;溶壁微球菌诱导溶菌酶的应答变化与灿烂弧菌、哈维氏弧菌、假交替单胞菌和停乳链球菌存在明显差异,溶菌酶可能是仿刺参清除入侵溶壁微球菌的主要免疫因子;灿烂弧菌诱导仿刺参免疫因子应答变化显著不同于其他4株细菌,显示出本研究选取的5个免疫指标在预警灿烂弧菌病害上具有潜在应用价值;停乳链球菌在仿刺参中具有作为免疫增强剂的潜在应用价值。     

副溶血性弧菌耐热性直接溶血素(TDH)的研究进展

副溶血性弧菌(Vibrio parahaemolyticus)是海产品中一种常见的食源性致病菌,常导致水产养殖动物患病或者引起食物中毒。耐热性直接溶血素(thermotolerant direct hemolysin,TDH)是副溶血性弧菌最为重要的致病因子之一。本文围绕tdh基因在弧菌属中的广泛分布与传播、tdh基因的多样性及其表达调控、TDH的蛋白结构及其生物活性进行了综述,并对未来TDH的研究方向进行了展望。旨在进一步了解由副溶血性弧菌感染所引起的病症,为预防副溶血性弧菌的感染和临床治疗提供理论支撑。     

海洋红酵母多糖提取及其对日本蟳血清中部分免疫活性因子的影响

以海洋红酵母为材料, 通过化学抽提法得到多糖, 用经典的Sevag 法进行脱蛋白处理, 经多级沉淀得到纯糖并采用硫酸-蒽酮法测得其中葡萄糖含量; 考马斯亮蓝法分析蛋白质含量。以定量海洋红酵母多糖人工注射日本蟳, 注射等量生理盐水为对照, 定时测定其血清中部分免疫活性因子的活性; 实验表明: 提取多糖为蛋白多糖, 其中葡萄糖含量为3.6%, 蛋白质含量1.9%, 含有多种氨基酸, 其中天冬氨酸含量最多; 注射后12 h 日本蟳血清中总超氧化物歧化酶(T-SOD) 活力达到最高, 酸性磷酸酶(ACP) 活力在注射后24 h 达到最高, 碱性磷酸酶(AKP) 48 h 达到最高, 过氧化氢酶(CAT) 48 h 达到最高, 溶菌酶(LZM) 12 h 即达到最高, 最高点分别高于对照组24%、43%、25%、35%、95%; 72 h 后都恢复至对照组水平。结论: 海洋红酵母多糖注射48 h 内日本蟳体内免疫活性因子均有不同程度的提高, 对日本蟳有较强免疫刺激作用。     

邻苯二甲酸二丁酯(DBP)胁迫对三疣梭子蟹亚急性毒性

研究不同浓度邻苯二甲酸二丁酯(DBP)对三疣梭子蟹相关酶活的影响及组织损伤。设置了三个处理浓度(0.03 mg/L、0.2 mg/L和0.4 mg/L)分别在第0、5、10、15、20 d进行取样。结果表明,随着DBP浓度的增大,三疣梭子蟹死亡率升高。在0.03 mg/L浓度组胁迫下,血清超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)、过氧化氢酶(CAT)和碱性磷酸酶(AKP)活性呈现升高-下降交替波动,过氧化物酶(POD)活性在第10 d低于对照组(P<0.05),其余时间与对照组持平,酸性磷酸酶(ACP)活性在第5 d较对照组显著升高(P<0.05),此后一直保持对照组水平;在0.2 mg/L浓度组胁迫下,血清SOD活性呈现先升高后下降的趋势,POD活性变化不明显,CAT活性先下降后升高,此后恢复到对照组水平,ACP活性在第15 d出现最高值,其余时间与对照组持平,AKP活性呈现先升高后恢复的波动趋势;0.4 mg/L浓度组SOD、CAT和AKP活性呈现先升高后下降的趋势,POD活性和ACP活性在第20 d较对照组低(P<0.05),其余时间与对照组持平。组织切片观察可见,DBP胁迫损伤了三疣梭子蟹肝胰腺和鳃组织,DBP浓度越大,胁迫时间越长,损伤越明显。     

镉对长江华溪蟹免疫相关酶活性的影响

采用浸浴法研究了镉(Cd2+)对长江华溪蟹Sinopotamon yangtsekiense免疫系统相关酶的影响.Cd2+处理组浓度分别为7.25 mg/L、14.5 mg/L、29mg/L、58 mg/L和116 mg/L,同时设对照组.分别在Cd2+处理24 h、48h、72 h和96 h取血清进行酚氧化酶(PO)、超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)、酸性磷酸酶(ACP)和碱性磷酸酶(AKP)活力测定.结果显示,在相同处理时间,随着cd2+浓度增加,PO和SOD活力均呈现先升后降的趋势,且分别于24 h、7.25 mg/L和96 h、14.5 mg/L时达到最大值.当处理浓度相同、作用时间延长时,ACP活力先升后降,且在48 h、58 mg/L时升至最高,AKP活力则持续上升.表明Cd2+对长江华溪蟹免疫相关酶活力具有不同程度的影响,且其作用和效果具有浓度及时间效应.PO和SOD活力变化能够灵敏反映Cd2+对水生动物的胁迫程度,可作为指示镉污染的生物学指标.     

黑胸散白蚁工蚁与工蚁型补充生殖蚁体内抗氧化酶和解毒酶的活性及基因表达变化

【目的】社会性白蚁的工蚁可以转化成补充生殖蚁参与生殖,提高自身适合度。本研究旨在探究工蚁转变成补充生殖蚁后,与氧化应激抗衰老相关的抗氧化酶和解毒酶活性的变化,为揭示生殖蚁的繁殖和抗衰老机制提供参考。【方法】利用生化方法分别测定黑胸散白蚁Reticulitermes chinensis工蚁、工蚁型补充生殖蚁和原始生殖蚁体内的2种抗氧化酶过氧化氢酶(catalase, CAT)和超氧化物歧化酶(superoxide dismutase, SOD)与4种解毒酶酸性磷酸酶(acid phosphatase, ACP)、碱性磷酸酶(alkaline phosphatase, AKP)、羧酸酯酶(carboxylesterase, CarE)和细胞色素P450(cytochrome P450, CYP450)的酶活性;同时利用qRT-PCR检测这些酶对应的基因RsCAT, RsSOD, RsACP, RsCYP450和RsCarE的表达量。【结果】与雌性工蚁相比,黑胸散白蚁工蚁型补充生殖蚁体内的CAT, SOD, ACP, AKP和CarE活性显著上升,分别达到雌性工蚁的5.82, 1.41, 1.39, 2.27和2.70倍,CYP450活性在两品级间没有显著差异;RsCAT, RsSOD, RsACP, RsCarE和RsCYP450的表达量也显著增加。补充生殖蚁体内CAT和ACP活性显著高于原始生殖蚁的,而SOD和AKP活性在两品级间没有显著差异;雌雄补充生殖蚁RsCAT的相对表达量分别是原始生殖蚁的5.68和3.60倍,RsACP的相对表达量分别是原始生殖蚁的81.12和46.72倍。【结论】黑胸散白蚁工蚁由非生殖品级转化为生殖品级以后,体内抗氧化酶和解毒酶的酶活力和基因表达水平显著升高,从一定程度上揭示了生殖品级的抗衰老机制。     

连续4次(每次间隔36h)部分肝切除对大鼠肝ACP、AKP、HSC70/HSP68和PCNA的影响

在分析了连续 3次 (每次间隔 4h)部分肝切除对肝细胞生化和增殖的影响后 ,本文又以连续 4次 (每次间隔 3 6h)部分肝切除 (shortintervalsuccessivepartialhepatectomy ,SISPH)大鼠为模型 ,分析了SISPH对肝脏酸性磷酸酶 (ACP)、碱性磷酸酶 (AKP)、构成性热休克蛋白 70 /诱导性热休克蛋白 68(HSC70 /HSP68)和增殖细胞核抗原 (PCNA)活性和含量的影响。结果表明 ,第 1次切除肝的左外叶后恢复 3 6h ,ACP和AKP活性及HSC70 /HSP68和PCNA表达量均增加 ;第 2、 3、 4次分别切除左中叶和中叶、右叶、尾状叶 (每次间隔 3 6h)后 ,AP活性和PCNA含量与AKP活性和HSC70 /HSP68含量呈负相关性 ;间隔 3 6h的连续部分肝切除延缓了细胞分化时间。根据上述实验中ACP和AKP在细胞内位置和活性变化推测 :AKP和ACP可能共同参与了细胞的增殖启动 ;PCNA和AKP可能参与了DNA合成和细胞增殖 ;ACP和HSC70 /HSP68可能在蛋白质转运、选择性降解和细胞结构、功能重建中起重要作用。     

嘉黎牦牛和荷斯坦牛4项红细胞酶活性的测定

测定了西藏嘉黎牦牛和南京荷斯坦牛血液红细胞中乳酸脱氢酶 (LDH)、碱性磷酸酶 (AKP)、过氧化氢酶 (CAT)、超氧化物歧化酶 (SOD)等 4项酶的活性 ,结果分别为LDH 2 5 5 2 3 1 6± 71 4 0 3和 2 1 2 74 96± 6638 1 6(nmol s) ,AKP 4 4 4 4± 1 2 81和 36 5 3± 1 1 31 (nmol s) ,CAT 1 0 2 73± 32 2 2和 63 0 8± 1 2 4 7(U gHb) ,SOD 1 3979 1 6± 2 873 84和 92 85 37± 2 880 60 (U gHb)。西藏嘉黎牦牛的CAT和SOD极显著高于荷斯坦牛 (P <0 0 1 ) ;而LDH和AKP显著高于荷斯坦牛 (P <0 0 5 )。     

Cloning and expression of gene encoding the thermostable direct hemolysin from Vibrio alginolyticus strain HY9901, the causative agent of vibriosis of crimson snapper (Lutjanus erythopterus)

AIMS: The main aims of this study were to clone and express complete open reading frame (ORF) of thermostable direct haemolysin gene (tdh) from Vibrio alginolyticus strain HY9901 in Escherichia coli, and further evaluate the virulence of expressed TDH on mouse and crimson snapper. METHODS AND RESULTS: A 410 bp internal fragment of the tdh gene was amplified by touchdown PCR with designed primers. Then its unknown flanking sequences of the 5'- and 3'-ends were finally characterized by inverse PCR and nested PCR. Sequence analysis showed that the tdh gene contain 570 bp ORF which encoded 189 amino acids. The deduced amino acid sequence of the ORF was in significant homology with several Vibrio TDH. The product that the tdh gene expressed in E. coli was purified by Ni(2+)-IDA Sepharose affinity column. The activity of purified TDH was 4651 U mg(-1) protein by hide powder azure digestion. The lethal toxicity test showed that LD(50) values of the purified TDH were 5.68 and 8.34 microg TDH g(-1) body weight for mouse and crimson snapper, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The complete ORF of tdh gene was obtained by touchdown PCR, inverse PCR and nested PCR. The ORF was perfectly expressed in E. coli. The activity and toxicity assays showed that the N-terminal signal peptide was essential to autocatalyse and fold correctly to obtain the activity and toxicity in the purified TDH. The Native-PAGE analysis showed that the activated tdh gene expressed in E. coli was a dimer with two identical subunits. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: This study demonstrates that the expressed activated TDH can produce the toxicity protein determined on mouse and fish, which will lead to better understandings of the identifying virulence factor that could be considered as a candidate antigen for vaccine and a diagnostic tool for vibriosis. Its use as an immunizing antigen might prevent the ability of V. alginolyticus to infect the marine aquatic animals, as a complementary measure to tick control and appropriate management in countries affected by vibriosis.     

Analysis of the tdh gene cloned from a tdh gene- and trh gene-positive strain of Vibrio parahaemolyticus

A variant of the gene (tdh) encoding thermostable direct hemolysin (TDH) was cloned from the chromosome of Vibrio parahaemolyticus AQ3860, which gave positive results in the hybridization tests with the tdh gene probe and the trh (tdh-related hemolysin) gene probe and showed a low level of reaction in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for TDH. Nucleotide sequence analysis of the cloned gene (tdh5) provided no evidence that tdh5 is evolutionally closer to the trh gene than the other tdh genes. The tdh5 gene was flanked by 40 base-pair sequences constituting perfect inverted repeats, which may suggest association of the tdh5 gene with insertion sequence-like structure. These results suggest that the tdh5 gene and the trh gene were not originally produced by gene duplication in AQ3860 but rather that one of the two genes moved into AQ3860 from an external source.     

Vibrio parahaemolyticus thermostable direct hemolysin can induce an apoptotic cell death in Rat-1 cells from inside and outside of the cells

Rat-1 cells exposed to Vibrio parahaemolyticus thermostable direct hemolysin (TDH) developed morphological changes including shrinkage of the cells and reduction in the size of nuclei. Cells either microinjected with TDH or transfected with the tdh gene also showed morphological changes similar to those induced by externally added toxin. Furthermore, TDH-exposed or tdh-transfected cells both showed chromatin condensation and DNA fragmentation which suggest cells undergoing apoptosis. In contrast, expression of a TDH mutant (R7) did not reveal any cytotoxic effects. We demonstrate that expressed TDH was distributed in the cytoplasm. The interleukin-1beta-converting enzyme-related protease inhibitor ZVAD-FMK did not inhibit TDH cytotoxicity. Our results suggest that TDH can induce its cytotoxicity both from outside and from inside the cells and killed the cells through apoptosis.     

Cytotoxicity and enterotoxicity of the thermostable direct hemolysin-deletion mutants of Vibrio parahaemolyticus

The thermostable direct hemolysin (TDH) has been proposed to be a major virulence factor of Vibrio parahaemolyticus. We have recently completed the genome sequence of a TDH-producing V. parahaemolyticus strain, RIMD2210633. In this study, we constructed tdh-deletion mutants from the sequenced strain by homologous recombination and analyzed their phenotypes. Although the deletion of both copies of tdh completely abolished the hemolytic activity of the wild-type strain, the deletion did not affect the cytotoxicity to HeLa cells. Enterotoxicity, assayed by the rabbit ileal loop test, was lowered by tdh deletion, but the mutant still showed partial fluid accumulation in rabbit intestine. These results indicate that the cytotoxicity and enterotoxicity of TDH-producing V. parahaemolyticus are not explained by TDH alone, and suggest that an unknown virulence factor(s) could be involved in these pathogenic activities.     

Analysis of the gene of Vibrio hollisae encoding the hemolysin similar to the thermostable direct hemolysin of Vibrio parahaemolyticus

The gene (designated as Vh-tdh) of Vibrio hollisae 9041 encoding a hemolysin similar to the thermostable direct hemolysin (TDH) of V. parahaemolyticus contained a 567-base-pair open reading frame (ORF), which was 93.3-93.5% homologous to those of the tdh genes of V. parahaemolyticus, V. cholerae non-01, and V. mimicus encoding TDH or similar hemolysins. Comparative analysis of the nucleotide sequence containing the Vh-tdh ORF with published nucleotide and amino acid sequences suggested that the Vh-tdh gene and other tdh genes diverged from a common ancestral gene, that the divergence was closely associated with the evolutionary divergence of V. hollisae from other species of genus Vibrio, and that strain-to-strain variation of the Vh-tdh gene exists in V. hollisae.     

Cloning and expression of two genes encoding highly homologous hemolysins from a Kanagawa phenomenon-positive Vibrio parahaemolyticus T4750 strain

We have cloned and sequenced the gene encoding thermostable direct hemolysin (TDH), a possible virulence factor in Vibrio parahaemolyticus gastroenteritis, from a Kanagawa-phenomenon-positive strain, T4750. This strain was found to contain two sequences (tdhA and tdhS) homologous to the tdh gene previously reported by Nishibuchi and Kaper [J. Bacteriol 162 (1985) 558-564] and Taniguchi et al. [Microb. Pathog. 1 (1986) 425-432]. Sequence homology of the coding regior between tdhA and tdhS was 97.2%. The deduced amino acid (aa) sequence of TdhA, excluding the putative signal peptide was identical to that of TDH protein purified from V. parahaemolyticus [Tsunasawa et al., J. Biochem. 101 (1987) 111-121] except for Glu118 instead of Gln118. Although the aa sequence deduced from the second gene, tdhS, differed in eight residues from the TDH protein, it agreed with the sequence of Tdh deduced from the previously cloned tdh gene. Both tdhA and tdhS expressed biologically active hemolysins in Escherichia coli. While the apparent molecular size of TDH purified from a culture supernatant of V. parahaemolyticus T4750 was identical to TdhA protein synthesized in E. coli, it was larger than TdhS. Only one band was detected in the culture supernatant of V. parahaemolyticus T4750 by Western blotting; its mobility was indistinguishable from that of purified TDH. These data suggest that tdhA is the structural gene for TDH found in the culture supernatant of V. parahaemolyticus T4750, and that there was only partial, if any, tdhS expression in the strain T4750 under the test conditions employed.     

The formation of hybrid complexes between isoenzymes of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase regulates its aggregation state,the glycolytic activity and sphingolipid status in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The glycolytic enzyme glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) has been traditionally considered a housekeeping protein involved in energy generation. However, evidence indicates that GAPDHs from different origins are tightly regulated and that this regulation may be on the basis of glycolysis-related and glycolysis-unrelated functions. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Tdh3 is the main GAPDH, although two other isoenzymes encoded by TDH1 and TDH2 have been identified. Like other GAPDHs, Tdh3 exists predominantly as a tetramer, although dimeric and monomeric forms have also been isolated. Mechanisms of Tdh3 regulation may thus imply changes in its oligomeric state or be based in its ability to interact with Tdh1 and/or Tdh2 to form hybrid complexes. However, no direct evidence of the existence of these interactions has been provided and the exact function of Tdh1,2 is unknown. Here, we show that Tdh1,2 immunopurified with a GFP-tagged version of Tdh3 and that lack of this interaction stimulates the Tdh3’s aggregation. Furthermore, we found that the combined knockout of TDH1 and TDH2 promotes the loss of cell’s viability and increases the growing rate, glucose consumption and CO₂ production, suggesting a higher glycolytic flux in the mutant cells. Consistent with this, the tdh3 strain, which displays impaired in vitro GAPDH activity, exhibited the opposite phenotypes. Quite remarkably, tdh1 tdh2 mutant cells show increased sensitivity to aureobasidin A, an inhibitor of the inositolphosphoryl ceramide synthase, while cells lacking Tdh3 showed improved tolerance. The results are in agreement with a link between glycolysis and sphingolipid (SLs) metabolism. Engineering Tdh activity could be thus exploited to alter the SLs status with consequences in different aspects of yeast biotechnology.     

Manifestation of the Kanagawa phenomenon, the virulence-associated phenotype, of Vibrio parahaemolyticus depends on a particular single base change in the promoter of the thermostable direct haemolysin gene

Thermostable direct haemolysin of Vibrio parahaemolyticus has been shown to be a major virulence factor. The Kanagawa phenomenon (KP), haemolysis induced by this haemolysin on a special blood agar medium, is strongly associated with clinical strains. We have been studying the expressions of various tdh genes encoding this haemolysin to elucidate the significance of the tdh genes possessed by KP-negative strains isolated from patients. We examined the importance of the promoter sequence variation for expression level of the tdh gene in this study. Only the tdh 2 gene, one of the two tdh genes ( tdh 1 and tdh 2) present in a KP-positive strain, was previously shown to be responsible for the haemolytic activity of the KP-positive strain. The tdh 1– and tdh 2– lacZ fusions were used to determine and analyse the promoter sequence by primer extension and site-directed mutagenesis methods. Two bases (positions −24 and −34) within the determined tdh 2 promoter sequence were shown to be mostly responsible for the difference in the promoter strength between the tdh 2 and tdh 1 genes both in Escherichia coli and in V. parahaemolyticus backgrounds. Representative tdh promoters of KP-negative strains are close to the tdh 2 promoter; they differ at position −34 but have the same base at position −24 as the tdh 2 promoter. We demonstrated that base substitution of the tdh promoters of KP-negative strains only at position −34 is sufficient to increase the expression of these genes to the KP-positive level. Therefore, the tdh genes of KP-negative strains are considered to be potentially important because they can generate a KP-positive subclone by a point mutation in their promoters.     

Soft-agar-coated filter method for early detection of viable and thermostable direct hemolysin (TDH)- or TDH-related hemolysin-producing Vibrio parahaemolyticus in seafood

A novel method for detecting viable and thermostable direct hemolysin (TDH)-producing or TDH-related hemolysin (TRH)-producing Vibrio parahaemolyticus in seafood was developed. The method involved (i) enrichment culture, selective for viable, motile cells penetrating a soft-agar-coated filter paper, and (ii) a multiplex PCR assay targeting both the TDH gene (tdh) and TRH gene (trh) following DNase pretreatment on the test culture to eradicate any incidental DNAs that might have been released from dead cells of tdh- or trh-positive (tdh+ trh+) strains and penetrated the agar-coated filter. A set of preliminary laboratory tests performed on 190 ml of enrichment culture that had been inoculated simultaneously with ca. 100 viable cells of a strain of tdh+ trh+ V. parahaemolyticus and dense populations of a viable strain of tdh- and trh-negative V. parahaemolyticus or Vibrio alginolyticus indicated that the method detected the presence of viable tdh+ trh+ strains. Another set of preliminary tests on 190 ml of enrichment culture that had been initially inoculated with a large number of dead cells of the tdh+ trh+ strain together with dense populations of the tdh- and trh-negative strains confirmed that the method did not yield any false-positive results. Subsequent quasi-field tests using various seafood samples (ca. 20 g), each of which was experimentally contaminated with either or both hemolysin-producing strains at an initial density of ca. 5 to 10 viable cells per gram, demonstrated that contamination could be detected within 2 working days.