Phylogenetic and Biogeographic Patterns of Vibrio parahaemolyticus Strains from North America Inferred from Whole-Genome Sequence Data
J. J. Miller, Bart C. Weimer, Ruth Timme, Catharina H. M. Lüdeke, James Pettengill, D. J. Darwin Bandoy, Allison M. Weis, James H. Kaufman, Bihua C. Huang, Justin Payne, Errol Strain, Jessica Jones
Abstract
is the most common cause of seafood-borne illness reported in the United States and is frequently associated with shellfish consumption. This study contributes to our knowledge of the biogeography and functional genomics of this species around North America. STs shared between the Gulf Coast and the Atlantic seaboard as well as Pacific waters suggest possible transport via oceanic currents or large shipping vessels. STs frequently isolated from humans but rarely, if ever, isolated from the environment are likely more competitive in the human gut than other STs. This could be due to additional functional capabilities in areas such as cell signaling, transport, and metabolism, which may give these isolates an advantage in novel nutrient-replete environments such as the human gut.