Characterization of Aeromonas encheleia strains isolated from aquatic environments in the Czech Republic

Characterization and identification of Aeromonas strains isolated from surface and underground waters using phenotypic and genotyping methods.

Biotyping using the ENTEROtest 24 kit and conventional biochemical and physiological tests assigned four strains to Aeromonas encheleia, whereas three isolates were identified as ambiguous Aeromonas bestiarum/Aeromonas caviae and one strain as Aeromonas eucrenophila/Aeromonas encheleia. Further characterization grouped the analysed strains together with Aer. encheleia CCM 4582(T) and assigned the analysed group as members of Aer. encheleia species using ribotyping, whole-cell protein analysis and ERIC-PCR fingerprinting. The results obtained were verified by DNA gyrase A subunit gene sequencing. All analysed isolates showed unique molecular patterns, except for isolates P 1769 and CCM 7407, which revealed the same EcoRI ribotype profile and proved to be identical strains.

Our results imply that Aer. encheleia strains occur in unpolluted surface as well as in underground waters and demonstrate applied methods as suitable for their identification.

To our best knowledge, this is the first report of the isolation and identification of Aer. encheleia in the Czech Republic.