EVALUATION OF THE POLYMERASE CHAIN-REACTION METHOD FOR IDENTIFICATIONOF VIBRIO-VULNIFICUS ISOLATED FROM MARINE ENVIRONMENTS

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method for identification of Vibri o vulnificus in the marine environment was evaluated by comparing it t o both the conventional and DNA-DNA hybridization methods. Of 13,325 i solates obtained from seawater and sediment samples, and oyster and go by specimens collected from the coastal waters of Tokyo Bay, Japan, on ly 61 isolates were identified as V. vulnificus on the basis of phenot ypic characteristics and the amplification of the cytotoxin-hemolysin gene by the PCR method. All 61 isolates were further confirmed to be V : vulnificus by a DNA-DNA hybridization method and the API 20E system although they were divided into 13 groups on the basis of their API 20 E profiles. These results strongly suggest that the PCR method is usef ul for identification of this organism.