Open AccessAeromonas hydrophila clinical and environmental ecotypes as revealed by genetic diversity and virulence genes
Author(s) -
AguileraArreola Ma. Guadalupe,
HernándezRodríguez César,
Zúñiga Gerardo,
Figueras María José,
CastroEscarpulli Graciela
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
fems microbiology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.899
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1574-6968
pISSN - 0378-1097
DOI - 10.1016/j.femsle.2004.11.011
Subject(s) - ecotype , biology , aeromonas hydrophila , virulence , rapd , genetic diversity , intergenic region , aeromonas , genetics , dendrogram , gene , genetic variation , genetic marker , microbiology and biotechnology , bacteria , genome , population , demography , sociology
Aeromonas hydrophila strains recovered from clinical samples and ambient sources were phenotypically and genetically identified. In addition, the distribution of putative virulence factors was assayed. To determine the genetic diversity of these strains, random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC)‐PCR markers were used. The discriminatory ability of the techniques, using Simpson's index, was 0.96 for both methods. The most consistent dendrogram was obtained when RAPD and ERIC data were combined. The genetic diversity revealed a high intra‐specific genetic diversity ( h = 0.364 ± 0.024 and I = 0.538 ± 0.030). The strains showed a tendency to cluster according to their origin of isolation (best‐cut test 0.80 and bootstrap values >50%). The present study demonstrates and quantifies the high intra‐specific diversity within this species and reveals a clear differentiation of strains according to their ecological origin. The distribution of virulence‐related genes confirm that A. hydrophila is a genetically heterogeneous species that harbour ecotypes which have different pathogenic potential to human and other animals.