Genomic data combined with reverse genetic approaches have contributed to the characterization of major virulence factors of Vibrio species; however, these studies have targeted primarily human pathogens. Here, we investigate virulence factors in the oyster pathogen Vibrio splendidus LGP32 and show that toxicity is correlated to the presence of a metalloprotease and its corresponding vsm gene. ...

The O-antigen is a highly diverse structure expressed on the outer surface of Gram-negative bacteria. The products responsible for O-antigen synthesis are encoded in the wbe region, which exhibits extensive genetic diversity. While heterogeneous O-antigens are observed within Vibrio species, characterization of these structures has been devoted almost exclusively to pathogens. Here, we investig...

AIMS A numerical taxonomic study of halophilic Vibrio isolated from healthy and brown ring disease (BRD) affected manila clams (Ruditapes philippinarum), harvested from the Atlantic coast of south-western Spain, was performed. METHODS AND RESULTS Characterization of 123 presumptive Vibrio spp. was carried out using 94 phenotypic tests. Simple matching and Jaccard similarity coefficients were ...

AIMS To describe the diversity of the culturable mesophilic and potentially pathogenic vibrios isolated at 22 and 37°C on TCBS medium, in September 2009 from seawater and surface sediments. METHODS AND RESULTS q-PCR assays previously selected for the identification of bacterial strains isolated at 37°C were used in combination with the partial sequencing of two housekeeping genes, pyrH and to...

Two episodes of mortality of cultured carpet shell clams (Ruditapes decussatus) associated with bacterial infections were recorded during 2001 and 2002 in a commercial hatchery located in Spain. Vibrio alginolyticus was isolated as the primary organism from moribund clam larvae that were obtained during the two separate events. Vibrio splendidus biovar II, in addition to V. alginolyticus, was i...

Diverse families of antimicrobial peptides and proteins have been described in oysters. We investigated here how antimicrobials are involved in the immune response against a pathogenic strain of Vibrio splendidus. Oyster antimicrobials were shown to display a wide variety of expression profiles in hemocyte populations and tissues. Oyster defensins are constitutively expressed in specific tissue...

Two hundred and eighty four presumptive but not confirmed Vibrio vulnificus isolates grown on cellobiose-polymixin B-colistin agar (CPC) at 40 degrees C, recovered from sea water samples from Valencia, Spain, during a microbiological survey for V. vulnificus, were phenotypically identified. Most of the isolates (91%) corresponded to Vibrio species. V. harveyi (24%) and V. splendidus(19%) were t...

Aquaculture is the fastest growing food sector globally and is established itself as high protein resource to fulfill the food demand since the natural resources exhibits over exploitation. But, presently, the biggest problem faced by the aquaculture industry worldwide is diseases caused due to various biological and non-biological agents. Among the groups of microorganisms that cause serious l...

Facultatively anaerobic marine bacteria isolated from cultured clams, Ruditapes decussatus and Ruditapes philippinarum, were previously investigated using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) and 16S rRNA gene sequence analyses. The isolates formed two AFLP clusters and belonged to the genus Vibrio, more precisely to the Splendidus clade. In this study, phylogenetic analyses based on s...