Journal of Microbiology

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov'ts

A Novel Retron of Vibrio parahaemolyticus Is Closely Related to Retron-Vc95 of Vibrio cholerae: Toshi Shimamoto , Ashraf M. Ahmed , Tadashi Shimamoto; J. Microbiol. 2013;51(3):323-328. Published online June 28, 2013; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12275-013-2715-7

Abstract: Some bacteria produce a satellite RNA-DNA complex termed msDNA, multicopy single-stranded DNA. In this report, msDNA from Vibrio parahaemolyticus, a cause of acute gastroenteritis, was identified and named msDNA-Vp96. The retron element containing the ret gene, encoding the reverse transcriptase (RT) that is responsible for msDNA production, was cloned and characterized. Comparison of msDNAVp96 and msDNA-Vc95, from Vibrio cholerae, showed a high level of sequence similarity. We exchanged the two ret genes to examine whether msDNA was produced by the RT from different sources. We found that RT-Vp96 of V. parahaemolyticus was able to synthesize msDNA-Vc95 of V. cholerae and vice versa. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report that RT from different bacterial species can synthesize msDNA.

The Ecology of Vibrio vulnificus, Vibrio cholerae, and Vibrio parahaemolyticus in North Carolina Estuaries: Karen Dyer Blackwell , James D. Oliver; J. Microbiol. 2008;46(2):146-153. Published online June 11, 2008; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12275-007-0216-2

Abstract: While numerous studies have characterized the distribution and/or ecology of various pathogenic Vibrio spp., here we have simultaneously examined several estuarine sites for Vibrio vulnificus, V. cholerae, and V. parahaemolyticus. For a one year period, waters and sediment were monitored for the presence of these <br>three pathogens at six different sites on the east coast of North Carolina in the United States. All three pathogens, identified using colony hybridization and PCR methods, occurred in these estuarine environments, although V. cholerae occurred only infrequently and at very low levels. Seventeen chemical, physical, and biological parameters were investigated, including salinity, water temperature, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, levels of various inorganic nutrients and dissolved organic carbon, as well as total vibrios, total coliforms, and E. coli. We found each of the Vibrio spp. in water and sediment to correlate to several of these environmental measurements, with water temperature and total Vibrio levels correlating highly (P<0.0001) with occurrence of the three pathogens. Thus, these two parameters may represent simple assays for characterizing the potential public health hazard of estuarine waters.

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