Abstract
BackgroundVibrio parahaemolyticus is a Gram-negative halophilic bacterium. Infections with the bacterium could become systemic and can be life-threatening to immunocompromised individuals. Genome sequences of a few clinical isolates of V. parahaemolyticus are currently available, but the genome dynamics across the species and virulence potential of environmental strains on a genome-scale have not been described before.ResultsHere we present genome sequences of four V. parahaemolyticus clinical strains from stool samples of patients and five environmental strains in Hong Kong. Phylogenomics analysis based on single nucleotide polymorphisms revealed a clear distinction between the clinical and environmental isolates. A new gene cluster belonging to the biofilm associated proteins of V. parahaemolyticus was found in clincial strains. In addition, a novel small genomic island frequently found among clinical isolates was reported. A few environmental strains were found harboring virulence genes and prophage elements, indicating their virulence potential. A unique biphenyl degradation pathway was also reported. A database for V. parahaemolyticus (http://kwanlab.bio.cuhk.edu.hk/vp) was constructed here as a platform to access and analyze genome sequences and annotations of the bacterium.ConclusionsWe have performed a comparative genomics analysis of clinical and environmental strains of V. parahaemolyticus. Our analyses could facilitate understanding of the phylogenetic diversity and niche adaptation of this bacterium.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1471-2164-15-1135) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a Gram-negative halophilic bacterium
By comparing the genome sequences, we found that our clinical strains were phylogenetically distinct from the environmental strains
We discovered a new gene cluster belonging to the biofilm associated proteins of V. parahaemolyticus
Summary
Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a Gram-negative halophilic bacterium. Infections with the bacterium could become systemic and can be life-threatening to immunocompromised individuals. In Hong Kong, infections due to foodborne pathogens are a common and important public health issue. Among all causative agents resulting in foodborne outbreaks, bacteria have caused more than 80% of the cases. In 2006, the Centre for Health Protection of Hong Kong revealed more than 800 local foodborne outbreaks due to bacterial causative agents, inflicting more than 3000 people [1]. V. parahaemolyticus is well known as the causative agent of the most prevalent food poisoning in Asia since the mackerel-borne outbreak in 1959 [3]. Infections can become systemic and can be lifethreatening to immunocompromised individuals [5]
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