COMPARISON OF A COMMERCIAL BIOCHEMICAL KIT AND AN OLIGONUCLEOTIDE PROBE FOR IDENTIFICATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL ISOLATES OF VIBRIO-VULNIFICUS

Methods for the identification and isolation of environmental isolates of Vibrio vulnificus were evaluated. Alkaline peptone water supplemen ted with polymyxin B and colistin-polymyxin B-cellobiose agar were emp loyed for the isolation of suspected V. vulnificus from water, sedimen t and shellfish samples. When comparing the identification of putative V. vulnificus obtained with the API 20E assay and an oligonucleotide probe, 29 API 20E profiles were obtained with only four profiles (repr esenting 20 isolates) reaching the identification threshold of V. vuln ificus among a total of 66 isolates hybridizing with the probe. The re sults indicated that, compared with colony hybridization, the API 20E assay was not adequate for the identification of environmental isolate s of V. vulnificus.