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Molecular identification of pathogenic and nonpathogenic strains of Vibrio harveyi using PCR and RAPD

Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology volume 63, pages 722–727 (2004)Cite this article

Abstract

Fifteen environmental samples of Vibrio spp. isolated from healthy and diseased shrimps were tested for pathogenicity to juvenile shrimps. Two isolates, strains Z2 and Z3, were observed to be pathogenic, causing 100% mortality of the target host compared to the control strain Vibrio harveyi ATCC 14126. Environmental and type strains were subjected to molecular characterization by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and PCR using primers targeted to different virulence, transcriptional regulator, or quorum sensing genes from V. harveyi. Primers designed for luxN were specific and identified all the environmental strains as V. harveyi. The random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) method was used to differentiate between pathogenic and nonpathogenic strains of V. harveyi. These methodologies allowed us to detect and distinguish strains virulent and avirulent to juvenile shrimp.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by grant 34035-V from CONACyT. The authors wish to thanks Rosalia Contreras Flores, Diana Arce Machado and Sonia Soto for their contribution to this work, and Dr. Denise Garcia (University State of California, San Marcos) for English language assistance.

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Affiliations

  1. Molecular Microbiology Laboratory, Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada (CICESE), Department of Marine Biotechnology, Ensenada, B.C. México

    G. Hernández & J. Olmos

  2. Biotecnología Marina, P.O. Box 434844, San Diego, CA 92143-4844, USA

    J. Olmos

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  1. G. Hernández
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  2. J. Olmos
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Correspondence to J. Olmos.

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Hernández, G., Olmos, J. Molecular identification of pathogenic and nonpathogenic strains of Vibrio harveyi using PCR and RAPD. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 63, 722–727 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-003-1451-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-003-1451-z

Keywords

  • Vibrio
  • Control Strain
  • Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism Analysis
  • Environmental Isolate
  • Avirulent Strain