Trh (tdh −/trh +) gene analysis of clinical, environmental and food isolates of Vibrio parahaemolyticus as a tool for investigating pathogenicity

• The clinical strain was identical in the trh2 to other European clinical isolates.
• Differences occurred amongst the trh2 sequences of isolates from the environment.
• 64.5% of environmental isolates were different in the trh2 from clinical isolates.
• Polymorphisms may differentiate virulent from less or non-virulent cultures.
• T3SS2β genes are ubiquitous in tdh −/trh + V. parahaemolyticus from different sources.

Sequencing analysis of the trh gene encoding the TDH-related haemolysin of tdh −/trh + Vibrio parahaemolyticus isolated in Italy between 2002 and 2011 from clinical, environmental, and food samples revealed the presence of the trh2 variant in all isolates. The trh2 of the clinical isolate was 100% identical to other clinical tdh −/trh2 V. parahaemolyticus from Europe. Nucleotide and amino acid differences in the trh2 sequences of clinical isolates from Italy and other countries allowed a differentiation of the clinical strains from the majority of environmental or food strains isolated in Italy. Aspartic acid and isoleucine at positions 113 and 115, encoded by nucleotide triplets GAT and ATT at positions 337–339 and 343–345 of the complete trh gene sequence, were present in clinical strains from Europe (Italy, Norway and Germany), Asia and the United States.Only 35.5% of the tdh −/trh2 V. parahaemolyticus of environmental or food origin from Italy shared the same triplets/amino acid detected in clinical isolates, while 64.5% of isolates from the marine environment were different from those of clinical origins, demonstrating that differences occur amongst the trh2 sequences of strains from the environment and these polymorphisms may differentiate potentially pathogenic from less or non-pathogenic cultures found in the environment and seafood. In addition the distribution of T3SS2 genes was investigated in this group of tdh −/trh + V. parahaemolyticus from different sources and in three clinical tdh +/trh − V. parahaemolyticus isolates. All tdh −/trh + V. parahaemolyticus of environmental or food source, independent of year of isolation or geographical origin, amplified all the screened T3SS2β genes and tested negative to PCR assays for all five T3SS2α genes, as the tdh −/trh + clinical V. parahaemolyticus isolate.The vopC genes, encoding for one of the effector proteins of T3SS2, were partially sequenced and compared to clinical tdh −/trh + and tdh +/trh + V. parahaemolyticus isolates from other countries. Analysis of T3SS2β vopC sequences revealed variation in tdh −/trh2 isolates from Italy, which were separated from a group of vopC sequences derived from trh2 V. parahaemolyticus from the USA.