Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28223, USA.
Environ Microbiol Rep. 2010 Feb;2(1):128-32. doi: 10.1111/j.1758-2229.2009.00119.x. Epub 2010 Jan 5.
The genus Vibrio contains several of the most important pathogens known. One member of this group, Vibrio vulnificus, is an estuarine bacterium which is the causative agent of both food-borne disease and wound infection. Vibrio vulnificus is ubiquitous in estuarine waters and occurs in molluscan shellfish in high numbers. However, the incidence of disease is relatively low and it has been suggested that not all strains of V. vulnificus are equally virulent. We have previously shown that there is a dimorphism present in the vcg (virulence correlated gene) locus of V. vulnificus, with the vcgC (clinical) and vcgE (environmental) alleles strongly correlating with either clinical or environmental isolation source. In this study, an examination of eight V. vulnificus genes for which there is sufficient data showed that such a C/E dimorphism is present in each gene examined, including housekeeping genes. Additionally, we found that the C and E genotypes of V. vulnificus respond in markedly different ways to environmental conditions. These findings lead us to hypothesize that the C and E genotypes also represent different ecotypes, possibly in the process of diverging into separate species.
弧菌属包含几种已知的最重要的病原体。该属的一个成员，创伤弧菌，是一种港湾细菌，是食源性疾病和伤口感染的病原体。创伤弧菌普遍存在于港湾水域，并在贝类中大量存在。然而，疾病的发病率相对较低，有人认为并非所有创伤弧菌菌株都具有同等的毒力。我们之前已经表明，创伤弧菌的 vcg（与毒力相关的基因）基因座存在一种二态性，vcgC（临床）和 vcgE（环境）等位基因与临床或环境分离源强烈相关。在这项研究中，对八个有足够数据的创伤弧菌基因进行了检查，结果表明每个被检查的基因（包括管家基因）都存在这种 C/E 二态性。此外，我们发现创伤弧菌的 C 和 E 基因型对环境条件的反应明显不同。这些发现使我们假设 C 和 E 基因型也代表不同的生态型，可能正在分化成不同的物种。
