• The Journal of the Korean Society for Microbiology
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.225-237
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• 2000

Vibrio vulnificus, a halophilic vibrio is an estuarine gram-negative bacteria that is associated with severe and frequently fatal wound infections and life-threatening septicemia. Bacteriocins are defined as antibacterial substance produced by various species of bacteria which are usually active against closely related organisms. Bacteriocins have found widespread application in epidemiological studies as specific markers of bacteria. It was proposed by Ha et al. (1990. J. Korean. Soc. Microbiol. 25: 586.) to give the bacteriocins produced by V. vulnificus the name "vulnificins". In the present study, a total of 72 strains of V. vulnificus isolated from patients and oysters were subjected to screen potential producers and indicators of vulnificin, applying ultraviolet induction method. Sensitivity of several strains of Serratia marcesans, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Shigella flexneri, Salmonella typhi and Yersinia enterocolitica to vulnificins were also examined out. All the tested strains of V. vulnificus produced vulnificins active against indicator strains with various different inhibitory patterns. The spectrum of vulnificin activity and sensitive spectrum of indicator strains were considerably broad. Interestingly, almost all strains of S. marcescens, P. aeruginosa, Salmonella sp., Shigella sp. and Y. enterocolitica tested were sensitive to 1-7 vulnificin(s). Taken together, the present study demonstrated that all of the isolates of V. vulnificus produced vulnificins and that 8 good vulnificin producers and 10 good indicators were detected. These strains can be employed efficiently for establishing vulnificin typing scheme of V. vulnificus and for the detection of bacteriocinogeny and sensitivity in V. vulnificus. Biological role of vulnificin remains to be further elucidated.

• The Journal of the Korean Society for Microbiology
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.109-116
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• 1987

As a process to establish an effective preventive measure of V. vulnificus septicemia, bactericidal effect of distilled water against V. vulnificus was studied. When about $2.0{\times}10^7\;CFU/ml$ of V. vulnificus was inoculated in distilled water, a dramatic decrease in the number of viable bacteria by 5 to $6LOG_{10}$ was observed in 5 minutes. Bactericidal kinetic curves could be divided into the first rapid killing phase until 1 minute and the later slow killing phase after then, showing the heterogeneity of the bacterial population inoculated. When V. vulnificus was inoculated in saline solutions having various salinities, significant decrease in the number of viable bacteria was noted only at salinities under 0.2%. The higher was the concentration of NaCl, the greater was the degree of protection against osmotic shock. When glucose, NaCl, $MgCl_2$, and $CaCl_2$ were diluted with deionized water to give same osmolarities and V. vulnificus was inoculated in each of them to compare the bactericidal curves plotted during the first 5 minutes after inoculation, the protection efficiencies were in the order of $MgCl_2>CaCl_2{\gg}NaCl{\gg}glucose$. Above results indicate that treatment(or thorough washing) of contaminated sea animals or other products with distilled water can be used as a preventive measure of V. vulnificus septicemia, and divalent cations can protect V. vulnifcus to osmotic shock with high efficiency.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.27-29
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• 2001

Vibrio vulnificus endotoxin was extracted, analyzed the chemical composition, tested its biological activity, and compared to those of Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium. The major fatty acid of three endotoxins were different each other; V. vulnificus endotoxins were different each other; V. vulnificus endotoxin was myristric acid (C14:0), E. coli was lauric acid (C12:0), S. typhimurium was capric acid (C10:0). The biological activities of V. vulnificus endotoxin were similar to those of E. coli and S. typhimurium in terms of the gelation activity of the Limulus amebocyte lysate and the lethal toxicity. But the result of enzyme (AST, ALT, and LDH) analysis showed that the enzyme activity of V. vulnificus endotoxin was similar to that of E. coli, but smaller than that of S. typimurium.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.302-309
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• 2001

Colony blot hybridization using a VVHP DNA probe derived from the sequence of the hemolysin gene, vvhA, was specific in identifying all V. vulnificus strains, thereby, eliminating the need for any additional phenotypic identification. The colony blot hybridization procedure revealed a sensitivity and broad applicability sufficient for the direct enumeration of V. vulnificus in various natural samples, without the use of enrichment or culturing on selective medis. V. vulnificus was detected in all natural samples collected during August and May at concentrations ranging from $2.1{\times}10^1\;to\;4.0{\times}10^3$ organisms per ml. However, during November and February, when the mean temperatures of the seawater were $12^{\circ}C$ and $5^{\circ}C$, respectively, V. vulnificus was not detected in any natural samples.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.87-91
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• 1997

Monoclonal antibodies were prepared in order to an assay method for Vibrio vulnificus. Sixteen mouse ybridoma cell lines were established by immunization of whole cell antigen to BALB/c mice, fusion with SP2/O myeloma cells, and cloning. Most of them secreted IgM.lambda. antibodies. A sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was developed with rabbit anti-V. vulnificus polyclonal antibodies as capture antibody, an IgM monoclonal antibody as detector antibody, and goat anti-mouse IgM-alkaline phosphatase conjugate as developer antibody. The range of detection was 10$\^$4/ to 10 V. vulnificus cells per microplate well. When four related Vibrio species were tested for cross-reactions, V. parahaemolyticus showed 3.5% reactively and V. carchariae, V. fluvialis, and V. furnisii showed negligibal (<1%) cross-reactivity.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.118-126
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• 1986

Vibrio vulnificus is a recently recognized halophilic organism that nay cause serious human infections. Patients infected with V. vulnificus often have a history of exposure to the sea, suggesting that the organism may be common inhabitant of marine environment. The purpose of this experiment is to investigate the distribution and bacteriological characteristics of V. vulnificus. The strain used in this experiment was isolated from sea water and sea products such as common octopus (Octopus variabilis), ark shell (Anadara broughtonii), blue crab (Ericheir japonica), and sea squirt (Synthia roretzi) collected in Pusan area from July to October in 1985. V. vulnificus was frequently isolated in August when temperature of sea water was around $26^{\circ}C$ and rarely isolated in October when temperature of sea water was around $18.5^{\circ}C$. The distinctive biochemical characteristics of V. vulnificus were ONPG hydrolysis positive and fermented lactose and not grown in peptone water contained $8\%$ NaCl. The optical density at 660 nm of the growth of V. vulnificus was reached maximum level after 8 hours of culture at $35^{\circ}C$ in brain heart infusion broth but that of V. vulnificus was little increased at $15^{\circ}C$ for 14 hours. Optimum temperature and pH for the growth of V. vulnificus were around $35^{\circ}C$ and 8.0. The specific growth rate and the generation time of V. vulnificus isolated from the samples were $1.21\;hr^{-1}$, 34 min at $35^{\circ}C$ and $0.61\;hr^{-1}$, 69 min at $25^{\circ}C$, respectively. V. vulnificus did not grow on eosin-methylene-blue agar, salmonella-shigella agar, deoxycholate agar but grew well on Endo agar, xylose-lysine-deoxycholate agar and hektoen enteric agar. On Endo agar, the colonies of V. vulnificus were red and achieved a diameter of 2 to 4 mm as a feature enabling differentiation of V. vulnificus from other Vibrio spp. V. vulnificus grow well on TCBS agar forming green colonies. V. vulnificus refrigerated at $4^{\circ}C$ exhibited a linear decline of its viablity as 1 log cycle in every 16 hours storage, while V. vulnificus freezed at $-18^{\circ}C$ almost became extinct.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.56 no.5
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• pp.626-633
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• 2023

Vibrio spp. are aquatic bacteria that are ubiquitous in warm estuarine and marine environments. Especially, V. vulnificus and V. cholerae are currently known to cause potentially fatal infections in humans. This study investigated the distribution and antibiotic resistance of V. vulnificus and V. cholerae isolated from coastal areas of Gyeongsangnam-do in 2022. A total of 252 samples of water, shellfish and coastal sediment were collected from 7 locations along the coast, and 124 samples of fishery products were collected from markets. Among the 252 samples, forty-four V. vulnificus (11.7%) and fourteen V. cholerae non-O1/non-O139 (3.7%), none of which carried the ctx gene, were isolated. Out of the 124 samples, 6 (4.8%) tested positive for V. vulnificus and V. cholerae was not detected. The isolation rates of V. vulnificus and V. cholerae showed a significant correlation with environmental factors such as seawater temperature and salinity. In an antibiotic resistance test, V. vulnificus was susceptible to amikacin, gentamicin, imipenem trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, and ciprofloxacin, but resistant to cefoxitin (100.0%), followed by tetracycline (9.1%). Multidrug resistance was also observed. Continuous monitoring of Vibrio pathogens with water temperature and salinity is expected to help reduce the outbreaks, and rational use of antibiotic agents is needed to prevent the accession of antibiotic-resistant microorganisms in aquatic ecosystems.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.412-415
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• 2018

The objective of this study was to establish a quantitative count method of Vibrio vulnificus cells. Plate count method is often used to count the number of V. vulnificus cells using thiosulfate citrate bile salts sucrose (TCBS) agar plate. However, this method is unsuitable for counting V. vulnificus cells due to growth inhibition and cell injuries in TCBS medium. In this study, we suggested a most probable number-polymerase chain reaction (MPN-PCR) method using alkaline peptone water medium for the quantification of V. vulnificus. This MPN-PCR method showed 2 log higher cell number than TCBS agar plate method. Similar results were also found in the control using, Luria-Bertani agar containing 2% NaCl. Thus, this MPN-PCR method can be used a sensitive method for quantitative count of viable V. vulnificus cells in fish and shellfish samples.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.350-355
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• 2004

Sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay is a rapid, sensitive, and inexpensive method for measuring cell proliferation and chemosensitivity. However, the lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release assay is generally used to measure cytototoxicity of infectious microorganisms against host cells. In this study, we investigated the possibility of applying the SRB assay to determine cytotoxicity for infectious microorganisms, and compared the results with those obtained by the LDH release assay. We used Vibrio vulnificus as a model of infectious microorganisms. The SRB assay showed that V vulnificus strongly induced cytotoxic activity against human intestinal cells, Caco-2 and INT-407 cells. The degree of cytotoxicity closely correlated with infection time and number ratios of V. vulnificus to intestinal cells (MOI, multiplicity of infection). Furthermore, cytotoxicity values obtained by SRB assay correlated well with results obtained by the LDH release assay, and both assays gave a linear response with respect to MOI Heat-inactivation of V. vulnificus for 35 min at $60^{\circ}C$ did not induce cytotoxic activity, indicating that viability of V. vulnificus is crucial for cytotoxic activity against intestinal cells. Although both assays are suitable as cytotoxicity endpoints, the SRB assay is recommended for measuring cytotoxicity of infectious microorganisms against host cells because of its significantly lower cost and more stable endpoint than the LDH release assay.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.43 no.spc1
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• pp.118-131
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• 2005

Vibrio vulnificus is an opportunistic pathogen of humans that has the capability of causing rare, yet devastating disease. The bacteria are naturally present in estuarine environments and frequently contaminate seafoods. Within days of consuming uncooked, contaminated seafood, predisposed individuals can succumb to sepsis. Additionally, in otherwise healthy people, V. vulnificus causes wound infection that can require amputation or lead to sepsis. These diseases share the characteristics that the bacteria multiply extremely rapidly in host tissues and cause extensive damage. Despite the analysis of virulence for over 20 years using a combination of animal and cell culture models, surprisingly little is known about the mechanisms by which V. vulnificus causes disease. This is in part because of differences observed using animal models that involve infection with bacteria versus injection of toxins. However, the increasing use of genetic analysis coupled with detailed animal models is revealing new insight into the pathogenesis of V. vulnificus disease.