Virulence factors and antimicrobial resistance in environmental strains of Vibrio alginolyticus

Authors

  • Marcos F. Hernández-Robles Department of Microbiology, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City, Mexico.
  • Ana K. Álvarez-Contreras Department of Microbiology, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City, Mexico.
  • Patricia Juárez-García Department of Microbiology, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City, Mexico.
  • Iván Natividad-Bonifacio Department of Microbiology, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City, Mexico.
  • Everardo Curiel-Quesada Department of Biochemistry, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City, Mexico.
  • Carlos Vázquez-Salinas Department of Biotechnology, Division of Biological Sciences and of the Health, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Iztapalapa, Mexico City, Mexico
  • Elsa Irma Quiñones-Ramírez Department of Microbiology, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City, Mexico.

Keywords:

Vibrio alginolyticus, secretion system, virulence factors, capsular polyssacharides, oysters

Abstract

Vibrio alginolyticus has acquired increasing importance because this microorganism may be pathogenic to aquatic animals and humans. It has been reported that some V. alginolyticus strains carry virulence genes derived from pathogenic V. cholerae and V. parahaemolyticus strains. In this work V. alginolyticus was isolated from oyster samples acquired from a food-market in Mexico City. Thirty isolates were identified as V. alginolitycus. Strains showed β-haemolysis and proteolytic activity and produced a capsule. Strains displayed swimming and swarming motility and 93.3% of them produced siderophores. Several genes encoding virulence factors were detected using PCR amplification. These included proA, wza, vopD, vopB, hcp, vasH and vgrG genes, which were present in all strains. Other genes had a variable representation: tdh (86.6%), lafA (96.6%), pvsA (62%) and pvuA (16%). The trh gene could not be amplified from any of the strains. The antimicrobial resistance profile revealed that more than 90% of the strains were resistant to beta-lactams antibiotics, 60% to cephalotin, 45% to amikacin, 16% to cephotaxime, and 10% to pefloxacin, while 100% were susceptible to ceftriaxone. The V. alginolyticus strains isolated from oysters showed multiple resistance to antibiotics and several virulence factors described in well-characterized pathogenic vibrios. [Int Microbiol 19(4):191-198 (2016)]

Keywords: Vibrio alginolyticus · secretion system · virulence factors · capsular polyssacharides · oysters

Author Biographies

Marcos F. Hernández-Robles, Department of Microbiology, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City, Mexico.



Iván Natividad-Bonifacio, Department of Microbiology, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City, Mexico.



Elsa Irma Quiñones-Ramírez, Department of Microbiology, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City, Mexico.

 

 

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