• The Journal of the Korean Society for Microbiology
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.73-77
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• 1984

Vibrio vulnificus is an organism capable of causing septicemia and wound infection in compromised patients. The source of infection is known to be raw oysters and others. The prevalence of the organism in Korean sea water and shellfish is not known. The authors surveyed shellfish and other specimens obtained mainly from a market in Seoul and from ones in Inchon. Five cultures of V. vulnificus were isolated from oyster and clam samples. Two isolates had typical characteristics of the strains isolated from patients, i.e., definite hemolysis and typical biochemical reactions. However, other 2 isolates were sucrose positive, although the identity were confirmed by Center for Disease Control. We do not know wether such strains are pathogenic or not. For the isolation of V. vulnificus from environmental samples, TCBS agar and VV agar were not very selective or differential. We isolated our strains with the use of OF-lactose agar and SPS agar. However OF-lactose agar did not support good growth of V. vulnificus, while SPS agar did not suppress other vibrios.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.52 no.6
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• pp.625-630
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• 2019

The pathogenic Vibrio genus contains halophilic bacteria that are distributed in marine and freshwater environments. Vibrio cholerae, Vibrio vulnificus, and Vibrio parahaemolyticus are potent human pathogens and leading causes of septicemia, wound infection, and seafood-borne gastroenteritis. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of pathogenic Vibrio species in seawater off the west coast of Korea. Sixty-four seawater samples were obtained from different sites in Gomso Bay and Byeonsan from April 2018 to November 2018. Pathogenic Vibrio species were detected using a combination of most probable number (MPN)-polymerase chain reaction methods. V. cholerae, V. vulnificus, and V. parahaemolyticus were found in 0.0%, 20.3%, and 65.6% of seawater samples, respectively. Quantitative results revealed 3.6-23 MPN/100 mL of V. vulnificus, and 3.6-930 MPN/100 mL of V. parahaemolyticus in the samples. Overall, these results provide new insight into the necessity for seawater sanitation in Gomso Bay and Byunsan; they also provide evidence that will help reduce outbreaks of seafood-borne illness caused by pathogenic Vibrio species.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.70-74
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• 1999

Vibrio vulnificus, a normal bacterial inhabitant of estuaries, is of concern because it can be a potent human pathogen, a causing septicemia, wound infections and gastrointestinal disease in susceptible host. In this survey, total 431 samples were obtained from different sites of the Chonman coastal area during the periods from Mar. 1997 to Feb. 1998. Vibrio vulnificus was isolated from the middle of May to the begining of November of 1997 in Chonman coastal area, as the seawater temperature was at 20$^{\circ}C$ and 15$^{\circ}C$, respectively and was rapidly increased to above 40% from July to September. The isolation rates of V. vulnificus from sediment, seawater, raw seafoods and aquarium water were 52.1%, 49.1%, 32.5%, and 27.3%, respectively and isolation rate was highest in oyster among various collected samples. V.vulnificus was also isolated from 73.1%(38/52) of sampling sites of Chonman coastal area.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.7 no.6
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• pp.423-428
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• 1997

Vibrio vulnificus is a halophilic gram-negative human pathogen, which affects people with underlying liver diseases or a suppressed immune system, often leading to primary septicemia with a mortality rate of higher than 60%. In an effort to develop an oral vaccine against V. vulnificus infection, we prepared a whole cell killed vaccine of V. vulnificus on a large scale and compared the immunogenicity and protective efficacy of the vaccine administered in three formulation forms in rabbits. Since V. vulnificus O-antigen serotypes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7 account for more than 95% of clinical isolates, we prepared cell lysates from these six serotype strains and mixed in equal amounts for a vaccine. The vaccine was administered to rabbits intramuscularly (i.m.), orally as granules or as enteric-coated granules. In rabbits, all three formulation forms elicited a high level of serum IgG antibody reactive not only to the six strains but also to other O-antigen serotypes 6, 8 and 9, indicating cross-reactivities among the strains. Immunotherapeutic efficacy of the antisera was also evaluated by a passive immunization assay, which revealed that the orally immunized antisera as well as the i.m. immunized antisera was protective against a subsequent lethal challenge of V. vulnificus. These data demonstrate that oral immunization with a V. vulnificus whole cell lysate vaccine induced a systemic immune response and suggest the feasibility of development of this vaccine preparation as an oral vaccine.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.26 no.9
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• pp.558-568
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• 2023

Vibrio vulnificus is an aquatic bacterium causing septicemia and wound infection in humans. To understand this pathogen at the genomic level, it was performed whole genome sequencing of a cefoxitin-resistant strain, V. vulnificus 1908-10 possessing virulence-related genes (vvhA, viuB, and vcgC) isolated from Gadeok island coastal seawater in South Korea. The genome of V. vulnificus 1908-10 consisted of two circular contigs and no plasmid. The total genome size was estimated to be 5,018,425 bp with a guanine-cytosine (GC) content of 46.9%. We found 119 tRNA and 34 rRNA genes respectively in the genome, along with 4,352 predicted protein sequences. Virulence factor (VF) analysis further revealed that V. vulnificus 1908-10 possess various virulence genes in classes of adherence, antiphagocytosis, chemotaxis and motility, iron uptake, quorum sensing, secretion system, and toxin. In the comparison of the presence/absence of virulence genes, V. vulnificus 1908-10 had fur, hlyU, luxS, ompU, pilA, pilF, rtxA, rtxC, and vvhA. Of the 30 V. vulnificus comparative strains, 80% of the C-genotype strains have all of these genes, whereas 40% of the E-genotype strains have all of them. In particular, pilA were identified in 80% of the C-type strains and 40% of the E-type strains, showing more difference than other genes. Therefore, V. vulnificus 1908-10 had similar VF characteristics to those of type C strains. Multifunctional-autoprocessing repeats-in-toxin (MARTX) toxin of V. vulnificus 1908-10 contained 8 A-type repeats (GXXGXXXXXG), 25 B.1-type repeats (TXVGXGXX), 18 B2-type repeats (GGXGXDXXX), and 7 C-type repeats (GGXGXDXXX). The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) showed that the RtxA protein of V. vulnificus 1908-10 had the effector domain in the order of cross-liking domain (ACD)-C58_PaToxP-like domain- α/β hydrolase-C58_PaToxP-like domain.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.1337-1345
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• 2005

Vibrio vulnificus is the causative agent of foodborne diseases such as gastroenteritis and life-threatening septicemia. Microbial pathogenicity is a complex phenomenon in which expression of numerous virulence factors is frequently controlled by a common regulatory system. In the present study, a mutant exhibiting decreased cytotoxic activity toward intestinal epithelial cells was screened from a library of V. vulnificus mutants constructed by a random transposon mutagenesis. By a transposon-tagging method, an open reading frame, fexA, a homologue of Escherichia coli areA, was identified and cloned. The nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences of the fexA were analyzed, and the amino acid sequence of FexA from V. vulnificus was $84\%\;to\;97\%$ similar to those of AreA, an aerobic respiration control global regulator, from other Enterobacteriaceae. Functions of the FexA were assessed by the construction of an isogenic mutant, whose fexA gene was inactivated by allelic exchanges, and by evaluating its phenotype changes in vitro and in mice. The disruption of fexA resulted in a significant alteration in growth rate under aerobic as well as anaerobic conditions. When compared to the wild-type, the fexA mutant exhibited a substantial decrease in motility and cytotoxicity toward intestinal epithelial cell lines in vitro. Furthermore, the intraperitoneal $LD_{50}$ of the fexA mutant was approximately $10^{1}-10^{2}$ times higher than that of parental wild-type. Therefore, it appears that FexA is a novel global regulator controlling numerous genes and contributing to the pathogenesis as well as growth of V. vulnificus.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.12
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• pp.1791-1801
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• 2013

Diketopiperazine is produced by various organisms, including bacteria, fungi, and animals, and has been suggested as a novel signal molecule involved in the modulation of genes with various biological functions. Vibrio vulnificus, which causes septicemia in humans, produces cyclo($\small{L}$-phenylalanine-$\small{L}$-proline) (cFP). To understand the biological roles of cFP, the effect of the compound on the expression of the total mRNA in V. vulnificus was assessed by next-generation sequencing. Based on the transcriptomic analysis, we classified the cFP-regulated genes into functional categories and clustered them according to the expression patterns resulted from treatment with cFP. From a total of 4,673 genes, excepting the genes encoding tRNA in V. vulnificus, 356 genes were up-regulated and 602 genes were down-regulated with an RPKM (reads per kilobase per million) value above 3. The genes most highly induced by cFP comprised those associated with the transport and metabolism of inorganic molecules, particularly iron. The genes negatively regulated by cFP included those associated with energy production and conversion, as well as carbohydrate metabolism. Noticeably, numerous genes related with biofilm formation were modulated by cFP. We demonstrated that cFP interferes significantly with the biofilm formation of V. vulnificus.

• Proceedings of the Microbiological Society of Korea Conference
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• 2002.10a
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• pp.59-62
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• 2002

The role of a TolC homologue in the virulence of Vibrio vulnificus, a marine bacterium causing serious wound infection and fulminant septicemia in persons with underlying conditions, has been studied. TolC, an outer membrane protein, has been implicated in a variety of bacterial functions including export of diverse molecules ranging from large proteins to antibiotics. A homologue of the tolC gene of V. cholerae, which has been shown to be required for bile resistance, cytotoxicity and colonization of this organism, was identified in the partially determined genome sequence of V. vulnificus. To determine the role of TolC in the virulence of V. vulnificus, a TolC-deficient (TD) mutant was isolated by in vivo allelic exchange. Compared with the parent strain, the TD mutant was more sensitive to bile, and much less virulent in mice challenged subcutaneously. This mutant was noncytotoxic to the HEp-2 cells, but its metalloprotease and cytolysin activities in the culture supernatant were comparable to the parent strain. In addition, the resistance of the TD mutant to human serum bactericidal activity as well as its growth in either human or murine blood was not affected. Collectively, our data suggest that TolC may be involved in colonization and/or spread of V. vulnificus to the blood stream, probably by secreting a cytotoxin other than the cytolysin.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.1197-1206
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• 2005

Vibrio vulnificus is an opportunistic pathogen that causes a septicemia and expresses numerous virulence factors, in which luxS and smcR are genes encoding for components responsible for quorum-sensing regulation. In the present study, null mutants were constructed with lesions in each or both of these two genes from the V. vulnificus Vv$\Delta$Z strain, which is a lacZ$^{-}$ and chloramphenicol/streptomycin-resistant derivative of the wild-type ATCC29307 strain, and their phenotypes related to virulence were compared with those of the parental cells. $LD_{50}$ and histopathological findings of luxS-, smcR-, or luxS- smcR- deficient mutant were not different from those of the parent strain, a lacZ-deficient streptomycin-resistant strain in mice. However, time of death in mice was delayed, and numbers of bacteria survived in bloodstream after intraperitoneal injection in mice were decreased by mutation, especially luxS and smcR double mutant (VvSR$\Delta$ZSR). These phenomena were supported by increased serum sensitivity and delayed bacterial proliferation in both murine blood and iron-restricted medium. These results suggest that the luxS and luxR homologous genes in V. vulnificus could playa role in bacterial survival in host by enhancing proliferation and adjusting to changed environment.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.15-29
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• 1992

Vibrio vuln$cus has been recognized as a pathogen of septicemia and wound infection, when the organism attacks high-risk persons with a history of hepatic disease. alcohol abuse. diabetes or any debilitative disease. Forty six strains of K vulnzjicus. isolated from 1025 marine specimens from May to Novemver for three years. from 1985 to 1987. were studied for their biochemical properties. growth requirements, serotype and drug susceptibilities. The isolates were different in their various biochemical reactions. Ninety-five percent of isolated strains were able to ferment lactose, while most strains didn't utilize sucrose in their biochemical test, for example ornithine, gelatin and mannitol were quite dit'ferent composition than those described in other reports. It was found that the biochemical test wasn't useful for identifying strain. The type of somatic 0 antiserum was determined in isolates from marine sources and in patients with Vibrio septicemia. In patient isolates. 1-2 group were 24% and 1-4 group were 42%. However. 02 group(33%) were more abundant in isolates from marine sources. Minimal inhibitory concentrations(M1Cs) of chloramphenicol, tetracycline. erythromycin and ampicillin were determinef for V vuln~ficus by broth dilution method. MIC90 was I , 0.25, :! and 4,ug/ml in patient isolates. 1, 0.25, 2 and 2 ,ug/ml in marine isolates. The divalent chelating agent, IDTA. inhibited the growth of V. vuln!'ficus at 6.25 mMlml of MIC90.