@article{gonzalez-escalona_martinez-urtaza_romero_espejo_jaykus_depaola_2008, title={Determination of molecular phylogenetics of Vibrio parahaemolyticus strains by multilocus sequence typing}, volume={190}, ISSN={["1098-5530"]}, DOI={10.1128/JB.01808-07}, abstractNote={ABSTRACT Vibrio parahaemolyticus is an important human pathogen whose transmission is associated with the consumption of contaminated seafood. There is a growing public health concern due to the emergence of a pandemic strain causing severe outbreaks worldwide. Many questions remain unanswered regarding the evolution and population structure of V. parahaemolyticus . In this work, we describe a multilocus sequence typing (MLST) scheme for V. parahaemolyticus based on the internal fragment sequences of seven housekeeping genes. This MLST scheme was applied to 100 V. parahaemolyticus strains isolated from geographically diverse clinical ( n = 37) and environmental ( n = 63) sources. The sequences obtained from this work were deposited and are available in a public database ( http://pubmlst.org/vparahaemolyticus ). Sixty-two unique sequence types were identified, and most (50) were represented by a single isolate, suggesting a high level of genetic diversity. Three major clonal complexes were identified by eBURST analysis. Separate clonal complexes were observed for V. parahaemolyticus isolates originating from the Pacific and Gulf coasts of the United States, while a third clonal complex consisted of strains belonging to the pandemic clonal complex with worldwide distribution. The data reported in this study indicate that V. parahaemolyticus is genetically diverse with a semiclonal population structure and an epidemic structure similar to that of Vibrio cholerae . Genetic diversity in V. parahaemolyticus appears to be driven primarily by frequent recombination rather than mutation, with recombination ratios estimated at 2.5:1 and 8.8:1 by allele and site, respectively. Application of this MLST scheme to more V. parahaemolyticus strains and by different laboratories will facilitate production of a global picture of the epidemiology and evolution of this pathogen.}, number={8}, journal={JOURNAL OF BACTERIOLOGY}, author={Gonzalez-Escalona, Narjol and Martinez-Urtaza, Jaime and Romero, Jaime and Espejo, Romilio T. and Jaykus, Lee-Ann and DePaola, Angelo}, year={2008}, month={Apr}, pages={2831–2840} }
 @article{gonzalez-escalona_jaykus_depaola_2007, title={Accurate identification of desired clones from 16S-23S rDNA spacer libraries using single PCR}, volume={360}, ISSN={["1096-0309"]}, DOI={10.1016/j.ab.2006.10.026}, number={1}, journal={ANALYTICAL BIOCHEMISTRY}, author={Gonzalez-Escalona, Narjol and Jaykus, Lee-Ann and DePaola, Angelo}, year={2007}, month={Jan}, pages={146–147} }
 @article{gonzalez-escalona_jaykus_depaola_2007, title={Typing of Vibrio vulnificus strains by variability in their 16S-23S rRNA Intergenic Spacer regions}, volume={4}, ISSN={["1556-7125"]}, DOI={10.1089/fpd.2007.0005}, abstractNote={Amplification of the 16S-23S rDNA spacer region (ISR1) is a simple and rapid procedure for subtyping bacteria, especially those with several ribosomal operons including Vibrio vulnificus. V. vulnificus contains nine ribosomal operons with four or five ISR1 classes that differ in size and sequence. In the present study, 47 V. vulnificus strains of both shellfish and clinical origin were subtyped by their ISR1 patterns using “universal” primers, which target conserved sequences located in the 16S and the 23S rRNA genes. Sixteen different ISR1 patterns were observed that were grouped into two major clusters. Most (21/27, 77.8%) clinical isolates examined in this study grouped into a single cluster containing ISR1 patterns I, V, XI, and XII and these were highly similar (75%). This cluster was restricted to strains carrying the type B 16S rDNA (rrs) sequence which has been associated with human illness in previous studies. The remaining cluster consisted primarily of shellfish isolates. The highest variability in the ISR1 patterns was observed among shellfish isolates. Sequence analysis of the ISR1 region of selected strains demonstrated that all of them possess five ISR1 classes, with two “conserved sequence blocks” at the 5′ and 3′ end of the ISR1. All of these strains carried at least one tRNA gene and different classes differed in their tRNA gene composition. Some of the same ISR1 classes differed in size mainly due to an insertion of 35 bp in either of the conserved sequence blocks. These results demonstrate the feasibility of the ISR1 technique for V. vulnificus subtyping and suggest that ISR1 patterns appear to be linked to rrs sequence types and perhaps with virulence.}, number={3}, journal={FOODBORNE PATHOGENS AND DISEASE}, author={Gonzalez-Escalona, Narjol and Jaykus, Lee-Ann and DePaola, Angelo}, year={2007}, pages={327–337} }
 @article{gonzalez-escalona_blackstone_depaola_2006, title={Characterization of a Vibrio alginolyticus strain, isolated from Alaskan oysters, carrying a hemolysin gene similar to the thermostable direct hemolysin-related hemolysin gene (trh) of Vibrio parahaemolyticus}, volume={72}, DOI={10.1128/AEM.01548-06}, abstractNote={ABSTRACT A Vibrio strain isolated from Alaskan oysters and classified by its biochemical characteristics as Vibrio alginolyticus possessed a thermostable direct hemolysin-related hemolysin ( trh ) gene previously reported only in Vibrio parahaemolyticus . This trh -like gene was cloned and sequenced and was 98% identical to the trh2 gene of V. parahaemolyticus . This gene seems to be functional since it was transcriptionally active in early-stationary-phase growing cells. To our knowledge, this is the first report of V. alginolyticus possessing a trh gene.}, number={12}, journal={Applied and Environmental Microbiology}, author={Gonzalez-Escalona, N. and Blackstone, G. M. and DePaola, A.}, year={2006}, pages={7925–7929} }