TOXIC AND ENZYMATIC-ACTIVITIES OF VIBRIO-VULNIFICUS BIOTYPE-2 WITH RESPECT TO HOST-SPECIFICITY

In this work, the enzymatic activities of selected strains of biotypes 1 and 2 of Vibrio vulnificus were analyzed by using conventional meth ods and the API ZYM system. The toxic activities of extracellular prod ucts (ECPs) were further evaluated by in vitro and in vivo experiments . The ECPs of both biotypes (i) showed high-level hydrolytic activitie s, (ii) displayed cytotoxicity for fish cell lines, and (iii) were let hal for eels. Exotoxins seem to be proteinaceous since heat treatment df ECP samples destroyed their toxicity. Only biotype 2 strains were v irulent for eels, suggesting that host specificity must be related to differences in cell surface properties. Infectivity trials with other fish species also revealed that only biotype 2 strains were virulent.