Biochemical, serological, and virulence characterization of clinical and oyster Vibrio parahaemolyticus isolates

In this study, 77 clinical and 67 oyster Vibrio parahaemolyticus isolates from North America were examined for biochemical profiles, serotype, and the presence of potential virulence factors (tdh, trh, and type III secretion system [T3SS] genes). All isolates were positive for oxidase, indole, and glucose fermentation, consistent with previous reports. The isolates represented 35 different serotypes, 9 of which were shared by clinical and oyster isolates. Serotypes associated with pandemic strains (O1:KUT, O1:K25, O3:K6, and O4:K68) were observed for clinical isolates, and 7 (9%) oyster isolates belonged to serotype O1:KUT. Of the clinical isolates, 27% were negative for tdh and trh, while 45% contained both genes. Oyster isolates were preferentially selected for the presence of tdh and/or trh; 34% contained both genes, 42% had trh but not tdh, and 3% had tdh but not trh. All but 1 isolate (143/144) had at least three of the four T3SS1 genes examined. The isolates lacking both tdh and trh contained no T3SS2α or T3SS2β genes. All clinical isolates positive for tdh and negative for trh possessed all T3SS2α genes, and all isolates negative for tdh and positive for trh possessed all T3SS2β genes. The two oyster isolates containing tdh but not trh possessed all but the vopB2 gene of T3SS2α, as reported previously. In contrast to the findings of previous studies, all strains examined that were positive for both tdh and trh also carried T3SS2β genes. This report identifies the serotype as the most distinguishing feature between clinical and oyster isolates. Our findings raise concerns about the reliability of the tdh, trh, and T3SS genes as virulence markers and highlight the need for more-detailed pathogenicity investigations of V. parahaemolyticus.