Rapid and specific detection of luminous and non-luminous Vibrio harveyi isolates by PCR amplification

Abstract

Vibrio harveyi is the major causal organism of luminous vibriosis, which causes potential devastation to diverse ranges of marine invertebrates over a wide geographical area. These microorganisms, however, are extremely difficult to identify because they are phenotypically diverse. Biochemical identification techniques involve many tests which may be time-consuming and expensive. The development and sustainability of shrimp aquaculture industry requires a simple, fast and reliable technique for species-specific identification of V. harveyi in order to control it effectively. The present communication describes a simple, cost-effective and rapid PCR-based and species-specific detection technique to facilitate early detection and identification of luminous and non-luminous V. harveyi isolates. Many of these isolates are also resistant to multiple antibiotics such as ampicillin, chloramphenicol, nalidixic acid, rifampin, polymyxin-B, trimethoprim and penicillin.