A Polyphasic Approach to Study the Intraspecif ic Diversity Amongst Vibrio vulnificus Isolates

Summary A polyphasic taxonomic approach using phenotypic and molecular genetic techniques, was carried out on the species Vibrio vulnificus in order to study its intraspecific diversity. Seven techniques, including phenotypic (API 20E, BIOLOG, total protein profiles, serotyping, ELISA), and genotypic methods (ribotyping and AFLP), were employed on 80 V. vulnificus strains of biotypes 1 and 2, including 9 reference cultures. The isolates came from different geographic origins (USA, Spain, Belgium, Sweden, Norway, Japan, Thailand) and types of samples (clinical, health/diseased fish, seafood, water). Diversity indexes calculated for strains of both biotypes revealed a higher phenotypic and ge…