• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.22 no.10
• /
• pp.1423-1431
• /
• 2012

The inhibitory effect of IgY against Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Vibrio vulnificus responsible for seafood-borne diseases was investigated in this study. Water-soluble fractions (WSF) of protein containing IgYs were isolated from the egg yolk of hens initially immunized with formalin-inactivated V. parahaemolyticus or V. vulnificus. Protein, total and specific IgY contents of the WSF were determined. The inhibitory and protective effects of IgYs on the growth of V. parahaemolyticus and V. vulnificus were assayed in liquid medium and in mice. IgYs showed high affinity to their corresponding antigens with high titer from day 28 onwards. Protein contents and total IgY concentrations remained stable throughout the immunization period, whereas specific IgY concentrations increased steadily and reached a plateau at day 49. Specific IgY powder (150 mg/ml) significantly inhibited further multiplication of both V. parahaemolyticus and V. vulnificus in liquid medium as compared with the control IgY. The bacteria count in mice feces was lower in mice pretreated with specific IgYs than in those pretreated with PBS or control IgY. Higher survival of mice was observed in the experimental groups pretreated with either anti-V. parahaemolyticus (75% survival) or anti-V. vulnificus (87% survival) IgYs, compared with those in the control groups pretreated with PBS or nonspecific IgY. All mice in the control groups died within three days after bacteria inoculation; hence, the protective effect of specific IgYs against infection caused by V. parahaemolyticus and V. vulnificus was demonstrated.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
• /
• v.36 no.2
• /
• pp.69-75
• /
• 2004

Vibrio vulnificus is a halophilic bacterium frequently involved in human infection of seafood-associated primary septicemia and primary wound infection, mostly in men with over 40-years of age with underlying liver disease. The primary septicemia, which is the most common form of V. vulnificus infection in Korea, is defined as a systemic illness presenting fever or hypotension with recovery of V. vulnificus from blood or tissue without the apparent primary focus of infection. V. vulnificus typically do not produce acid from sucrose, but a case of primary septisemia was found in a patient at Chonnam K hospital in 1993 from whose blood a sucrose-fermenting strain was isolated. The patient was a 62-year-old man, heavy drinker, with underlying liver disease. He consumed a raw seafood dish two days before onset of the present illness. His symptoms were tenderness and swelling on the right foot. He rapidly developed septicemia, resulting in sudden death. V. vulnificus was isolated from the venous blood culture of the patient. On subculture, the isolate formed yellow colonies on TCBS and produced acid from sucrose. Because of these characteristics, species identification was not achieved by the API 20E and was delayed. Other characteristics of the isolate were identical to those of typical V. vulnificus. The isolate was common serotype O4A and possession of V. vulnificus-specific cytolysin gene was detected by PCR. The isolate was susceptible to all the antimicrobial agents tested including tetracycline, but was intermediate to colistin. In conclusion, it is important that microbiologists be aware of the presence of sucrose-positive V. vulnificus when he or she identifies gram-negative bacilli, which is isolated from the blood of patients with a recent history of raw seafood dish consumption.

• BMB Reports
• /
• v.32 no.3
• /
• pp.273-278
• /
• 1999

Cytolysin produced by Vibrio vulnificus has been known to be lethal to mice by increasing vascular permeability and neutrophil sequestration in the lung. In the present study, a cytotoxic mechanism of V. vulnificus cytolysin on the neutrophil was investigated. Cytolysin rapidly bound to neutrophils and induced cell death, as determined by the trypan blue exclusion test. V. vulnificus cytolysin caused the depletion of cellular ATP without the release of ATP or lactate dehydrogenase. Formation of transmembrane pores was evidenced by the rapid efflux of potassium and 2-deoxy-D-[$^3H$]glucose from cytolysin-treated neutrophils. It was further confirmed by the rapid flow of monovalent ions in the patch clamp of cytolysin-treated neutrophil membrane. The pore formation was accompanied by the oligomerization of cytolysin monomers on the neutrophil membrane as demonstrated by immunoblot, which exhibited a 210 kDa band corresponding to a tetramer of the native cytolysin of $M_r$ 51,000. These findings indicate that V. vulnificus cytolysin rapidly binds to the neutrophil membrane and oligomerizes to form small transmembrane pores, which induce the efflux of potassium and the depletion of cellular ATP leading to cell death without cytolysis.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.14 no.5
• /
• pp.1093-1098
• /
• 2004

An open reading frame encoding CadC, consisting of 526 amino acids, was identified from the upstream region of the Vibrio vulnificus cadBA operon. The deduced amino acid sequences of the cadC were 22 to 78% similar to those reported from other Enterobacteriaceae. Functions of cadC gene on acid tolerance were assessed by comparing acid tolerances of V. vulnificus and its isogenic mutant, whose cadC gene was inactivated by allelic exchanges. The results demonstrated that the gene product of cadC contributes to acid tolerance of V. vulnificus, and that its contribution is dependent on prior exposure of cells to moderately acidic pH. The cellular level of cadB and cadA transcripts decreased in the cadC mutant, indicating that CadC exerts its effect on acid tolerance of V. vulnificus by enhancing the expression of cadBA in a pH-dependent manner.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
• /
• v.18 no.4
• /
• pp.387-393
• /
• 2015

Biotyping of Vibrio vulnificus strains isolated from marine environments along the south coast of Korea showed that the majority of the isolates (94.7%) belonged to biotype 1 and the remaining isolates (5.3%) belonged to biotype 2. Analysis of 16S rRNA V. vulnificus strains isolated from marine environments using a multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) revealed that 78.7% were type A and 21.3% were type B. Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) was used to analyze the genomic differences in V. vulnificus among the biotype 2 strains isolated from marine environments (newly isolated strains group) and reference strains obtained from infected eels (reference strains group). The two groups had distinctly different profiles of the amplicons produced from RAPD. Additionally, biochemical comparison of these strains revealed that all four strains isolated from marine environments differed from the strains isolated from eels in their ability to promote D-mannitol fermentation. Two (NH 1 and NH 2) out of four isolates of biotype 2 from marine environments showed pathogenicity in eels Anguilla japonica in a challenge test. These isolates did not agglutinate with antisera against V. vulnificus NCIMB 2137 (serovar E), ATCC 27562 (non-serovar E), and ATCC 33816 (atypical serovar E).

• The Journal of the Korean Society for Microbiology
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.73-77
• /
• 1984

Vibrio vulnificus is an organism capable of causing septicemia and wound infection in compromised patients. The source of infection is known to be raw oysters and others. The prevalence of the organism in Korean sea water and shellfish is not known. The authors surveyed shellfish and other specimens obtained mainly from a market in Seoul and from ones in Inchon. Five cultures of V. vulnificus were isolated from oyster and clam samples. Two isolates had typical characteristics of the strains isolated from patients, i.e., definite hemolysis and typical biochemical reactions. However, other 2 isolates were sucrose positive, although the identity were confirmed by Center for Disease Control. We do not know wether such strains are pathogenic or not. For the isolation of V. vulnificus from environmental samples, TCBS agar and VV agar were not very selective or differential. We isolated our strains with the use of OF-lactose agar and SPS agar. However OF-lactose agar did not support good growth of V. vulnificus, while SPS agar did not suppress other vibrios.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
• /
• v.18 no.3
• /
• pp.788-792
• /
• 2009

Gamma $({\gamma})-irradiation$ can be used to control pathogens such as Vibrio vulnificus in seafood. The effects of irradiation on microbial cell populations (%) have been studied in order to develop detection methods for irradiated foods. The method used in this study was ethidium bromide monoazide (EMA) real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), using V. vulnificus specific primer, EMA, and $SYBR^{(R)}$ Green to discriminate between ${\gamma}-irradiated$ and non-irradiated cells. Confocal microscope examination showed that ${\gamma}-irradiation$ damaged portions of the cell membrane, allowing EMA to penetrate cells of irradidated V. vulnificus. ${\gamma}-Irradiation$ at 1.08 KGy resulted in log reduction ($-1.15{\pm}0.13$ log reduction) in genomic targets derived from EMA real-time PCR. The combination cold/heat shock resulted in the highest ($-1.74{\pm}0.1$ log reduction) discrimination of dead irradiated V. vulnificus by EMA real-time PCR.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
• /
• v.47 no.5
• /
• pp.479-485
• /
• 2021

Background: Vibrio vulnificus has been frequently detected in seawater, fish, and shellfish mainly in the coastal areas of Chungcheongnam-do Province. Objectives: This study was conducted to investigate the analyzed biochemical properties, genetic characteristics, and distribution of Vibrio vulnificus isolated from environmental sources in coastal areas of Chungcheongnam-do Province from 2019 to 2020. Methods: A total of 1,510 samples were obtained from six different sites in Chungcheongnam-do Province. Isolated strains from the samples were identified by a VITEK 2 system and MALDI-TOF. Antibiotic susceptibility testing for 85 isolates was done by microdilution minimum inhibitory concentration methods, and 11 isolates were analyzed for 16s rRNA sequences in multiple alignments. Results: Among the 1,510 samples taken during the investigation period, 306 strains were isolated and the detection rate of V. vulnificus was 20.3%. One hundred eighty-eight strains (24.6%) from seawater and 118 strains (15.8%) from mud flats were isolated. It was mainly detected in July (17.3%), August (36.5%), and September (28.8%), and the proportion was 82.0%. Based on the CLSI-recommended breakpoints, V. vulnificus isolates were all susceptible to amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, amikacin, gentamicin, ciprofloxacin and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole. However, nonsusceptible isolates to ampicillin, ampicillin/sulbactam, cefazolin, cefoxitin, imipenem, tetracycline and chloramphenicol were identified. In the analysis of the nucleotide sequences for 16s rRNA of V. vulnificus isolates, it was confirmed that mutations frequently occurred between nucleotide number 922 and 952, and 98.2% to 100% nucleotide identities between isolates was verified. Conclusions: The results of this study can be used as a basic data for infection control and prevention of Vibrio vulnificus infection by describing the distribution and characteristics of Vibrio vulnificus strains isolated in coastal areas of Chungcheongnam-do Province.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
• /
• v.50 no.1
• /
• pp.66-72
• /
• 2024

Background: Vibrio vulnificus is a serious opportunistic human pathogen that has a worldwide distribution in a variety of marine and estuarine environments. Objectives: For this reason, we investigated the distribution of Vibrio vulnificus in coastal areas of Gyeonggido Province from 2018 to 2022. Also, we analyzed the correlation between V. vulnificus leading to infection and two marine environmental factors (water temperature and salinity). Methods: We collected a total of 266 samples from six coastal area points (i.e., seawater, mudflats). Specimens were isolated using selective plating media and isolated strains were identified by a VITEK 2 system. To find the relevance of the isolation rates of V. vulnificus and number of cases of V. vulnificus infection, we summarized the data on 48 cases of V. vulnificus infection from the open data of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. Results: Among the 266 samples taken during the investigation period, 47 strains were isolated, and the separation rates of V. vulnificus were 17.7%. The monthly isolation rates of V. vulnificus were ranked in the order of August (53.8%), September (33.3%), June (28.6%), and July (21.1%). There was a positive correlation with the temperature of seawater, but salinity was not significant. The number of cases of V. vulnificus infection reported in Gyeonggi-do Province were 18 (37.5%) in September, 14 (29.2%) in August, and eight (16.7%) in October. The proportion was 83.3%. It was relevant to the isolation rates of V. vulnificus in the marine environmental sources. Conclusions: Our data showed that the number of V. vulnificus infection cases could be affected by changes in the distribution of V. vulnificus due to rise the temperature of seawater in the marine environment.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
• /
• v.11 no.2
• /
• pp.65-68
• /
• 1994

Vibrio vulnificus에서 lipopolysaccharide(LPS)를 추출하여 지방산 조성을 분석한 후 이 결과를 Escherichia coli LPS와 Salmonella typhimurium LPS의 것들과 비교하였다. Vibrio vulnificus LPS의 주 지방산은 myristic acid(C14:0, 41.37%)이었고 Escherichia coli LPS는 lauric acid(C12:0, 37.03%), Salmonella typhimurium LPS는 capric acid(C10:0, 48.60%)로 서로 달랐으나 이 세가지 지방산이 각 LPS의 주성분이었다(70%이상).