Table 3.

Virulence gene profiles of Vibrio cholerae non-O1, non-O139 isolates from German coastal waters compared to virulence genotypes of clinical non-O1, non-O139 isolates from German patients based on PCR data and profiles further analyzed based on WGS data.

ET, El Tor. ^aAll isolates were negative for ctxA, tcpA (Classical, El Tor), rstR (Classical, El Tor, Calcutta) and hlyA (Classical) PCR. A gray/black box indicates the potential presence/presence of the marker. ^bThe absence of VSP-1 and VSP-2 was demonstrated by the generation of 1.7 kbp and 800 bp PCR products, respectively, as the primers bind to flanking genomic sites of the pandemic islands. The generation of 3 kbp to 4 kbp PCR products indicated the presence of short VSP-1 fragments, while most of the pandemic island was absent. Strains showing none of the abovementioned PCR products were scored as potentially positive for VSP-1 and VSP-2. ^cVC1451 of Vibrio cholerae O1 biovar El Tor str. N16961. ^dThe presence of TTSS was demonstrated by the detection of vcsC2, vcsN2, vspD, and vcsV2.