副猪嗜血杆菌安徽株血清型、基因型及耐药性

【背景】副猪嗜血杆菌(Haemophilusparasuis,HPS)是猪革拉瑟氏病(Gl?sser’sdisease)的病原体,由于长期使用抗生素产生的耐药性以及灭活疫苗缺乏交互免疫保护力,目前对该病无法形成有效防控。【目的】了解安徽地区副猪嗜血杆菌血清型、基因型及耐药性特征,为猪革拉瑟氏病的有效防控提供科学依据和技术支撑。【方法】针对2008–2017年安徽地区分离的44株HPS,利用PCR反应鉴定血清型,应用多位点序列分型(multilocus sequence typing,MLST)进行基因分型,通过微量稀释法测定最小抑菌浓度(minimalinhibitoryconcentration,MIC)。【结果】44株HPS共检测出6种血清型(1、4、5、7、13、14),血清型4型和13型为优势血清型,各占40.91%;9种ST型(ST241、ST267、ST268、ST269、ST270、ST271、ST272、ST273和ST274)中ST267和ST268为优势基因型,各占40.91%;对庆大霉素、青霉素的敏感率分别为100%和93.2%,86.4%的分离株呈现多重耐药,耐药谱型有33种,其中以甲氧苄啶/磺胺甲噁唑-四环素构成比最大,为42.4%。【结论】安徽地区HPS流行血清型和基因型呈现多元化,具有较高的遗传异质性,多重耐药现象严重,血清型、ST型与耐药性之间无明显相关性。     

2018年辽宁省沙门菌血清型、 分子分型及耐药性

目的 分析辽宁省2018年沙门菌血清型、脉冲场凝胶电泳(PFGE)及耐药特征。 方法 对2018年辽宁省分离到的35株沙门菌菌株进行鉴定后,采用脉冲场凝胶电泳及药物敏感试验对沙门菌进行分子分型及耐药性分析。 结果 经鉴定35株沙门菌分布于13种血清型,数量居前3位的血清型为肠炎沙门菌(37.14%)、鼠伤寒沙门菌(14.28%)和婴儿沙门菌(11.42%)。所有沙门菌菌株对萘啶酸和四环素耐药率较高,达到42.86%和34.28%,对头孢西丁和亚胺培南表现为不敏感。某些菌存在多重耐药性。 结论 2018年辽宁省沙门菌的耐药情况较为严重,血清型分布广泛,以肠炎沙门菌为主,绝大多数相同血清型的菌株与其PFGE条带聚集存在相关性。     

临床分离鲍曼不动杆菌的外排泵基因检测及同源性分析

目的探讨临床分离鲍曼不动杆菌主动外排基因的分布和菌株克隆相关性,为指导临床合理用药和制定恰当的感染控制措施提供理论依据。方法对临床分离的80株鲍曼不动杆菌采用琼脂稀释法检测对抗菌药物的敏感性,聚合酶链反应(PCR)检测adeB、adeG、adeJ外排泵基因的携带情况,脉冲场凝胶电泳法分析多重耐药鲍曼不动杆菌的同源性。结果 80株临床分离鲍曼不动杆菌中,57株为多重耐药株(MDRAB),且对多粘菌素B、头孢哌酮/舒巴坦和美罗培南较为敏感,对其他临床常用抗生素普遍耐药。adeB、adeG、adeJ外排泵基因分布广泛,在敏感菌株中存在率也很高;PFGE分型结果显示57株MDRAB菌株共分为四大群(A、B、C、D),并以流行克隆A为主。结论临床分离鲍曼不动杆菌耐药形式严峻,其临床分离株普遍存在外排泵编码基因adeB、adeG、adeJ,携带外排泵阳性MDRAB菌株的克隆播散是温州地区鲍曼不动杆菌发生耐药的机制之一。     

2011至2012年石家庄地区沙门菌食物中毒分离株分子流行病学特征

研究沙门菌食物中毒分离株invA基因、血清型和基因型的分子流行病学特征。收集2011至2012年发生于石家庄地区6起食物中毒分离出的16株沙门菌,参照GB 4789.4-2010方法确定其血清型;用实时荧光PCR法检测分离株侵袭蛋白A(invA)基因;应用中国细菌性传染病分子分型实验室监测网络(PulseNet China)推荐的脉冲场凝胶电泳技术对分离株进行基因型研究。16株沙门菌食物中毒分离株共分为5种血清型,分别为都柏林沙门菌2株、鼠伤寒沙门菌2株、肠炎沙门菌8株、圣保罗沙门菌3株、依麦克沙门菌1株;所有分离株invA基因均为阳性;血清型不同的分离株基因型也不相同,其中2起食物中毒分离株的基因型相同,相似性系数为100%,符合同一起暴发的一般规律。石家庄地区沙门菌食物中毒分离株致病性较强,某些血清型存在暴发的风险,应加强措施进行防范。     

多重耐药鲍曼不动杆菌消毒剂耐药基因检测及同源性分析

目的探讨多重耐药鲍曼不动杆菌（MDRAB）临床分离株对医院常用消毒剂苯扎溴铵和醋酸氯已定的耐药表型与qacE△1-sul1基因型的相关性并分析菌株的同源性。方法用微量肉汤稀释法检测菌株的最低抑菌浓度（MIC）和最低杀菌浓度（MBC）,用PCR方法检测qacE△1-sul1基因,用脉冲场凝胶电泳（PFGE）分析菌株的同源性。结果20株MDRAB中,18株（90％）qacE△l-sul1阳性,2株（10％）qacE△1-sul1阴性。qacE△1-sul1阳性株对苯扎溴铵的MIC50、MIC90、MBC50和MBC90分别是qacE△1-sul1阴性株的2倍、2倍、8倍和8倍。而qacE△1-sul1阳性株对醋酸氯已定的MIC50、MIC90、MBC50和MBC90分别是qacE△1-sul1阴性株的2倍、2倍、4倍和8倍。PF-GE显示：18株qacE△1-sul1阳性MDRAB可分为A～F6个PFGE克隆。2株qacE△1-sul1阴性MDRAB均为B克隆。结论MDRAB对消毒剂耐药性升高与qacE△1-sul1基因相关,临床存在多个克隆株的传播。     

199株猪链球菌临床分离株血清型、毒力基因及多位点序列分型分析

【背景】猪链球菌（Streptococcus suis,SS）血清型、基因型众多,毒力因子复杂。【目的】了解SS临床分离株血清型、毒力基因分布、分子分型特征及其之间的相关性。【方法】针对199株SS临床分离株,应用PCR技术进行血清分型和毒力基因检测,采用多位点序列分型方法（multilocus sequence typing,MLST）进行基因分型,并分析SS血清型、毒力基因型和序列型（sequence type,ST型）的流行特点及其关联性。【结果】199株SS临床分离株分属于16种血清型（1、2、3、4、6、7、8、9、10、12、15、16、21、24、29和30型）,主要以2、4、3型为主,分别占26.13%（52/199）、14.57%（29/199）和12.06%（24/199）,未定型（NT）菌株占21.61%（43/199）。共鉴定出72种ST型,其中ST1、ST94、ST117、ST7、ST28和ST87为主要ST型,分别占12.56%（25/199）、11.56%（23/199）、9.56%（19/199）、9.04%（18/199）、6.03%（12/199）和3.01%（6/199）,另有24种新发现的ST型（ST1224—ST1227,ST1229—ST1235,ST1241—ST1242,ST1300—ST1310）;分为12个克隆群（cloning complexes,CC）和32个单个ST型。199株SS分离株中毒力基因fbps的检出率最高,为96.98%（193/199）;共有19种毒力基因型,其中66株（33.17%）epf-/mrp-/sly-/gapdh+/fbps+/orf2+型SS为优势毒力基因型。【结论】近年来SS的优势血清型为2、4和3型;ST型具有明显的遗传异质性,种内分化程度较高且与ST型存在一定交叉性;毒力基因分布情况存在差异,毒力基因型呈现多样化。本研究对SS临床分离株的流行特征进行探究,为猪SS病诊断、治疗和制定防控措施提供科学依据。     

54株猪源肠外致病性大肠杆菌血清型、系统进化群和基因型

摘 要:[背景]近年来,我国规模猪场着重加强了对猪繁殖与呼吸综合征、猪圆环病毒病、猪瘟、猪伪狂犬病、猪链球菌病、副猪嗜血杆菌病等疫病的防控,却忽视了由肠外致病性大肠杆菌(Extraintestinal Pathogenic Escherichia coli,ExPEC)对猪群健康产生的潜在危害性,了解和掌握猪源ExPEC流行特征意义显著。[目的]探究临床分离的54株猪源ExPEC血清型、系统进化群和基因型的分布及流行特征。[方法]应用玻板凝集试验和试管凝集试验鉴定O抗原血清型,采用PCR技术检测系统进化群鉴定相关基因、28个ExPEC相关毒力基因以及多位点序列分型相关基因。[结果]受试菌中有52株确定了O抗原血清型,其中40株为O38 (74.1%),为优势血清型;8株为O127 (14.8%),O93和O11均2株(各占3.7%)。受试菌中44株为B2群(81.5%),是主要系统进化群,D群和B1群均5 株(各占 9.3%);28 个 ExPEC 相关毒力基因中ompA、ibeA、fimH、traT、focD、papA、iroN、iutA、iucD、cvaC、tsh、kpsMT Ⅱ、iss和ompT出现的频率超过50%,其中ompA和ibeA检出率分别达100%和96.3%,为高度流行的毒力基因,未检到cnf1,而bmaE、malX和iha更倾向分布于D群菌株中。受试菌共呈现31种ST型,其中ST10和ST648均5株(各占9.3%),ST410和ST101均4株(各占7.4%)。[结论]猪源ExPEC优势血清型及系统进化群在不同地区、不同时段上的流行分布均存在一定差异,呈现动态过程,O38作为优势血清型目前尚未见报道,具有高致病性的B2群和D群菌株有逐渐增多的趋势。ST型复杂多样,呈现遗传多样性,在一定程度上与人源和禽源ExPEC具有相同的遗传背景。     

副猪嗜血杆菌aroA基因鉴定及遗传进化分析

[目的]细菌aroA基因参与芳香族氨基酸的生物合成,被成功应用于细菌分类和基因失活致弱突变菌株的构建.副猪嗜血杆菌(Hps)是感染猪出现多发性浆膜炎和关节炎的一种病原细菌,鉴定该菌aroA全基因序列将有助于鉴定遗传进化关系和突变分析.[方法]利用PCR和细菌基因组步移技术鉴定Hps的aroA基因序列,进而对不同血清型菌株该基因序列进行鉴定,并与其它革兰氏阴性细菌进行比对和遗传进化分析.[结果]自Hps血清5型基因组DNA中获得包含完整aroA基因的3.7 kb基因片段,其中aroA基因全长1314 bp,编码产物长度437 aa,分子量大小47.9 kDa,该基因上游为磷酸烯醇式丙酮酸羧化酶基因.自本试验选择的Hps不同血清型菌株中均可扩增出包含完整aroA基因的1476 bp片段,且这些不同血清型菌株间核酸序列同源性在97.7%以上.Hps血清5型aroA基因序列与巴氏杆菌科其它成员核酸序列同源性为70.6%-78.9%,与E.coli和S.typhi-murium的同源性分别为66.4%和67.2%.[结论]本试验首次对Hps的15个血清型国际参考菌株及地方分离株aroA全基因序列进行了鉴定,序列比较结果显示aroA基因在革兰氏阴性细菌中具有较高的同源性.aroA基因鉴定对构建基因失活突变菌株以研究Hps生物学特性奠定了基础.     

猪源新城疫病毒JL01株分离鉴定及F基因遗传进化分析

2000年,在吉林省某猪场发生具有较高发病率和死亡率的急性传染病,发病率达到40%～50%,病死率15%,取其脾、肺、肾等组织进行电镜观察,可见副粘病毒样颗粒,表明其病原可能为某种猪源副粘病毒,命名为JL01株。在对该病毒的的血凝、血凝抑制等生物学特性进行鉴定后,初步确定该种猪副粘病毒为猪源新城疫病毒。病毒回归试验表明,纯化的病毒对猪仍有较强的致死性,并可从死亡猪体内分离到新城疫病毒。该病毒对鸡胚平均致死时间(MDT)、脑内致病指数(ICPI)和半数致死量(EID50)分别为55.2h、1.60和10-7.5/0.1 mL,表明该毒株属于新城疫病毒强毒株。在此基础上,采用RT-PCR方法克隆了猪源新城疫病毒F基因,与其他10株NDV毒株进行序列比较分析,结果表明,JL01株与B1、LaSota、Clone30等经典的新城疫病毒弱毒株同源性较高(91.5%～98.5%),与ZJ1、Mukteswar等强毒株的同源性较低。F基因氨基酸裂解位点的序列为112G-K-Q-G-R-L117,与弱毒株序列完全相同。基因分型结果表明JL01株属于基因Ⅰ型。因此,本研究所分离到感染猪的新城疫病毒属于基因变异的新城疫病毒弱毒株...     

猪丹毒丝菌C43311株spaA基因N端免疫保护区的克隆和表达

采用PCR从猪丹毒丝菌C43311株基因组中扩增出编码表面保护性抗原A的spaA基因片段,将其克隆到pMD18-T载体并对插入片段进行测序.用spaA基因N端免疫保护区(spaA-N)的特异引物从重组质粒pMD18-spaA中扩增得到spaA-N片段,将其定向插入原核表达载体pGEX-6p-2中,构建重组表达质粒pGEX-spaA-N,转化大肠杆菌BL21(DE3),在IPTG诱导下表达融合蛋白GST-SpaA-N,用SDS-PAGE和Western印迹检测表达产物.测序结果表明spaA基因片段大小为1881bp,与已报道的不同血清型菌株spaA基因的核苷酸序列比较,核苷酸序列同源性在93%～99%之间.SDS-PAGE结果显示表达蛋白约为64kDa,与预期的大小相近.Western印迹检测结果表明,表达的融合蛋白GST-SpaA-N能与C43311株SpaA蛋白的抗血清发生特异性反应,证明原核融合表达蛋白具有免疫反应性.     

猪丹毒丝菌C43065株表面保护性抗原AN端保护区在大肠杆菌中的表达

目的：在大肠杆菌中表达猪丹毒丝菌C43065株表面保护性抗原A（SpaA）N端保护区（SpaA-N）,并检测其抗原性。方法：利用PCR方法从猪丹毒丝菌C43065株基因组中扩增出spaA基因片段,构建pMD18-spaA重组质粒并对插入片段进行测序;以pMD18-spaA重组质粒为模板,PCR扩增得到spaA-N基因片段,构建重组表达质粒pGEX-spaA-N,经序列测定证实正确后转化大肠杆菌BL21（DE3）,再经IPTG诱导表达GST-SpaA-N融合蛋白并纯化。结果：扩增得到的spaA基因长1881bp,编码由626个氨基酸残基构成的多肽;SDS-PAGE和Western印迹检测结果表明,诱导表达获得相对分子质量约64000的GST-SpaA-N融合蛋白,该融合蛋白能与相应抗体发生特异性反应。结论：获得了在大肠杆菌中可溶性表达的GST-SpaA-N融合蛋白,为进一步研究猪丹毒丝菌免疫保护性抗原奠定了基础。     

猪丹毒丝菌天然SpaA和重组SpaA-N免疫保护效果的评价

【目的】本试验以小鼠为动物模型,评估了猪丹毒丝菌重组表面保护性抗原A的N端保护区域(rSpaA-N)和天然SpaA的免疫保护效果。【方法】将猪丹毒丝菌C43311株SpaA-N以可溶形式表达在大肠杆菌BL21中,用GST Bind Resin纯化试剂盒纯化rSpaA-N,采用电洗脱法从猪丹毒丝菌C43311株NaOH提取抗原中纯化天然SpaA,将rSpaA-N、天然SpaA和NaOH提取抗原制成亚单位疫苗,同时设GST及生理盐水对照组,间隔2周分3次皮下免疫小鼠,第3次免疫后2周用100LD50猪丹毒丝菌C43065株进行腹腔攻毒,采用间接ELISA方法检测免疫组小鼠血清的抗体动态变化。【结果】SDS-PAGE结果显示,采用GST Bind Resin纯化试剂盒和电洗脱法纯化得到了66kDa的rSpaA-N和64kDa的天然SpaA,蛋白含量分别为1.34mg/mL和1.26mg/mL,而Western印迹结果表明rSpaA-N和纯化前后的SpaA具有良好的免疫反应性。保护试验结果表明,不同免疫剂量的rSpaA-N组、天然SpaA组和NaOH提取抗原组均能完全保护小鼠受强毒株C43065的致死性攻击,而GST组和生理盐水组小鼠攻毒后全部死亡。ELISA检测结果表明,在不同免疫剂量的rSpaA-N组、天然SpaA组和NaOH提取抗原组小鼠血清中的抗体效价之间无显著差异(P0.05)。【结论】本研究结果表明rSpaA-N具有良好的免疫保护作用,可以作为猪丹毒亚单位疫苗。     

安徽部分地区猪丹毒杆菌的分离鉴定及生物学特性研究

【目的】对安徽省8个不同地区猪场临床疑似猪丹毒病/死猪进行细菌分离鉴定,并研究其生物学特性。【方法】通过形态学及培养特性观察、生化试验、PCR方法对菌株进行鉴定,并进行药物感受性实验及免疫保护实验。【结果】共分离到29株猪丹毒杆菌,源自8个地区的猪丹毒杆菌分离菌具有较一致的形态特征和相似的生化特性。对29株猪丹毒杆菌进行18种常用抗菌药物的药敏试验,结果显示分离菌对氨苄西林、头孢曲松敏感率均达100%,其次是青霉素93%、红霉素89.7%和头孢噻肟75.9%,对其他13种药物则表现不同程度的耐药性。8株不同地区猪丹毒杆菌分离菌的LD50在(14.30?2.36)×102 CFU/mL之间,显示分离菌对小鼠均具有较强的致病力。商品化猪丹毒G4T10株弱毒疫苗2次颈部皮下免疫小鼠后,分别用剂量为100 LD50的8株猪丹毒杆菌分离菌腹腔攻毒小鼠,免疫保护率为100%。【结论】安徽地区猪丹毒发生有上升趋势,不同地区的猪丹毒杆菌分离菌具有较为一致的生物学特性,青霉素类和头孢类抗菌药物有显著疗效,使用猪丹毒G4T10株弱毒疫苗可产生有效的免疫保护力。     

Possible relationship of PFGE patterns of Moraxella catarrhalis between hospital- and community-acquired respiratory infections in a community hospital

We describe a prospective study of molecular analysis of Moraxella catarrhalis isolated from a community hospital. Our study was designed to investigate the possible relationship of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns of M. catarrhalis between hospital- and community-acquired respiratory infections. A nosocomial outbreak of M. catarrhalis was observed between September 2000 and September 2001. During the study period, 40 strains of M. catarrhalis were isolated from a total of 32 patients with respiratory infections (26 strains from 18 inpatients, and 14 strains from 14 outpatients). We compared the PFGE patterns in 40 strains of M. catarrhalis isolated from the respiratory tract of the study patients. The genomic types of M. catarrhalis were classified into three PFGE patterns (A, B, and C). Interestingly, the nosocomial outbreak of M. catarrhalis included two patterns (A and B). Of the three patterns, two patterns (A and B) were found in both inpatients and outpatients. More interestingly, two subtypes of pattern B (B1 and B4) were simultaneously found in both inpatients and outpatients. Our results indicated that PFGE with SmaI chromosomal digestion is a suitable technique to establish the inter-strain genetic relatedness of M. catarrhalis, and suggested that the outbreak of M. catarrhalis occasionally included miscellaneous PFGE patterns. The results also showed that PFGE patterns of M. catarrhalis isolates were similar between hospital- and community-acquired respiratory infections. Analysis of the subtypes suggested that there might be some association between hospital- and community-acquired respiratory infections caused by M. catarrhalis.     

Evaluation of a multiplex PCR for detection of serotypes K1, K2 and K5 in Klebsiella sp. and comparison of isolates within these serotypes

A multiplex PCR using targets within the serotype-specific region of the capsular polysaccharide synthesis gene cluster of serotypes K1, K2 and K5 was evaluated using the 77 reference serotype strains of Klebsiella, and a panel of clinical isolates subjected previously to conventional serotyping. The PCR was highly specific for these serotypes, which are those most associated with virulence in humans and horses. PCR confirmed that isolates of the K5 serotype had cross-reacted with antiserum for other serotypes, particularly for K7. K5 isolates received by our laboratory were almost exclusively from thoroughbred horses, and were submitted for screening prior to breeding programmes. Most, including a reference strain isolated in 1955, belonged to a cluster of genetically similar isolates of sequence type (ST) 60. K1 isolates, all from humans, belonged to a previously identified cluster of ST 23.     

PFGE analysis of the rice genome: estimation of fragment sizes,organization of repetitive sequences and relationships between genetic and physical distances

Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) has been applied to analyze the rice nuclear genome. Probing 56 RFLP probes selected from the 12 rice chromosomes to PFGE blots of nine rare-cutting restriction enzymes revealed that there are relatively high numbers of rare-cutting restriction sites in the rice genome. The average sizes of restriction fragments detected by single-copy probes are smaller than 200 kb for all of the rare-cutting restriction enzymes examined. Sizes of fragments detected by repetitive probes are variable, depending on the probes analyzed. By using PFGE, a tandemly repeated sequence, Os48, was found to be tightly linked to telomeric tandem repeats but not physically linked to r5s genes with which sequence homology had been observed. Relationships between genetic and physical distances have been established for three different chromosomal segments. In these regions 1 cm corresponds to ca. 260 kb on average. Analysis of a cluster of RFLP markers on chromosome 3 revealed that genetically clustered RFLP markers are also physically closely linked, suggesting that clustering of genetic markers may result in part from uneven distribution of single-copy sequences.     

Molecular characterization of Vibrio parahaemolyticus of similar serovars isolated from sewage and clinical cases of diarrhoea in Calcutta,India

Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a seafood-borne halophilic pathogen that causes acute gastroenteritis in humans. During the course of an investigation on the incidence of V. parahaemolyticus in sewage water samples of Calcutta, India, we isolated eight (26.7%) strains of V. parahaemolyticus from 30 samples. Among these strains, five (62.5%) carried the thermostable direct hemolysin (tdh) gene, a major virulence marker of V. parahaemolyticus. Two strains belonged to serovar O5:K3 and the remaining three to O5:KUT, which is common among clinical strains of V. parahaemolyticus isolated from hospitalized patients of Calcutta with acute diarrhoea. The tdh positive sewage strains of V. parahaemolyticus were compared by randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD)-PCR and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) with strains of similar serovars selected from our culture collection to determine the genetic relatedness. Our results showed that except for sharing the similar serovar, sewage and clinical strains of V. parahaemolyticus were genetically different. In addition, toxRS-targeted group-specific (GS) PCR and open reading frame 8 (ORF-8) PCR showed that the sewage strains did not belong to the pandemic genotype. Since the sewage in Calcutta is directly used for cultivation of vegetables and for pisciculture, the presence of tdh positive V. parahaemolyticus in the sewage highlights the need for constant monitoring of the environment.     

Differences between Lactococcus garvieae isolated from the genus Seriola in Japan and those isolated from other animals (trout, terrestrial animals from Europe) with regard to pathogenicity, phage susceptibility and genetic characterization

AIMS: To clarify the epidemiological relationship between Lactococcus garvieae isolates from the Seriola in Japan and isolates from other animals. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 32 isolates obtained from aquatic (the genus Seriola and trout) and terrestrial animals (cow, pig, cat, dog and horse) was used to evaluate its pathogenicity to yellowtail and mouse, phenotype (KG+ and KG-), its susceptibility to three bacteriophages and the pattern of pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Lactococcus garvieae isolated from Seriola showed strong pathogenicity to yellowtail, while isolates from trout showed weak pathogenicity and those obtained from terrestrial animals showed no distinct pathogenicity. Only, the isolates from the genus Seriola in Japan showed susceptibility to the bacteriophages. The results of PFGE pattern indicate that the isolates obtained from the Seriola predict homogeneity, while there is no similarity among the isolates obtained from different animals. CONCLUSION: This experiment indicates that L. garvieae isolated from Seriola in Japan appears to be very different from the isolates obtained from other animals, and the isolates prevalent among the genus Seriola in Japan might be homogeneous. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: This study suggests that a particular genetic group that has specially adapted and acquired virulence toward yellowtail were prevalent among the genus Seriola in Japan.     

Phenotypic traits,virulence‐associated gene profile and genetic relatedness of Edwardsiella tarda isolates from Japanese eel Anguilla japonica in Korea

Edwardsiella tarda is the predominant bacterium in farm‐cultured eel in Korea. Here, we evaluated the heterogeneity of 37 E. tarda isolates derived from Japanese eel with various origins (olive flounder, common carp and ornamental fish) between 2003 and 2010. Regardless of origins, the biochemical characteristics of E. tarda isolates were homogenous except hydrogen sulfide production, citrate utilization and mannitol fermentation. Based on the phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA, E. tarda isolates could be classified into two subgroups and displayed a close relation with Edwardsiella ictaluri and Edwardsiella hosinae lineages, suggesting that the subgroup I has been a predominant type in the Jeonnam and Jeonbuk provinces. I‐CeuI‐based pulsed‐field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) typing showed that the isolates from Japanese eels belonged to 11 pulsotypes, indicating that the presence of highly genomic diversity. Additionally, two isolates, ET‐060 and ET‐191, showed a high frequency of virulence genes (100%) and caused 90% and 60% mortality in Japanese eel, respectively. This finding suggests a substantial congruence of virulence gene profiles and pathogenicity. Our results demonstrate that the intraspecific diversity within E. tarda strains from Japanese eel has been in prior existence.

Significance and Impact of the Study

Based on the biochemical characteristics, the phylogenetic property of the 16S rRNA gene and PFGE types of Edwardsiella tarda, we could identify the intraspecific diversity of isolates from Japanese eel, Anguilla japonica in Korea. In addition, this study describes the strong congruence of virulence‐related genes and pathogenicity, suggesting that the virulence profile may be useful tool for prediction of pathogenicity.