Distribution and phenotypic identification of pathogenic Vibrio alginolyticus and other Vibrio sp isolated from Chennai east coast region, south India

The objective of the present study was aimed to evaluate the distribution and phenotypic identification of pathogenic Vibrio alginolyticus and other Vibrio sp. Total halophilic and Vibrio sp were isolated from marine water and sediment samples of Chennai East Coast Region [ECR]collected from Thiruvanmyur to Mahabaliburam by standard spread plate method. Each suspected colonies were identified by physio-chemical properties and pure strain were subjected to phenotypic identification as described in the literatures, finally the 16S rRNA sequence of the isolate was deposited in the GenBank database under accession number JN863235.Quantitative distribution of total halophilic and total vibrio counts of water and sediment samples were varied from 68 x 103 to 22x103cfu ml-1 and 13 x 103 to 8 x 103cfu ml-1, 87x103to28x103cfu g-1 and 21 x 103 to 9 x 103cfu ml-1 respectively. Qualitatively 23Vibriosp were isolated from both water and sediment samples. Of them Vibrio alginolyticus was the predominant species hence it was confirmed by phenotypic analysis. Vibrio alginolyticus is an opportunistic pathogen; our analysis showed that these results are very important for assessing risk of infection after bathing tourists especially at Thiruvanmyur, Kovelam and Mahabaliburam.