Presence of typical and atypical virulence genes in vibrio isolates belonging to the Harveyi clade

Abstract

Vibrios belonging to the Harveyi clade may be an important reservoir of virulence genes of other (human pathogenic) Vibrio species in the aquatic environment. The acquisition of virulence genes by horizontal transfer might increase the ability of Harveyi clade vibrios to infect aquatic organisms by increasing their virulence to a specific host by broadening their host range. The detection of such genes may forewarn the hatchery operators about a potentially virulent pathogen and thus help to develop management measures to handle the problem of vibriosis.