Enterococcus species diversity and molecular characterization of biomarker genes in Enterococcus faecalis in Port Blair Bay, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India. Issue 1 (15th May 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Meena, Balakrishnan; Anburajan, Lawrance; Sathish, Thadikamala; Raghavan, Rangamaran Vijaya; Jha, Dilip Kumar; Venkateshwaran, Pitchiah; Das, Apurba Kumar; Dheenan, Palaiya Sukumaran; Vinithkumar, Nambali Valsalan; Dharani, Gopal; Kirubagaran, Ramalingam
• Is Part Of: Marine pollution bulletin. Volume 94:Issue 1/2(2015:May)
• Page Start: 217
• Page End: 227
• Publication Date: 2015-05-15
• Subjects: Enterococcus sp. -- Biomarker genes -- Box-whisker plots -- Cluster analysis -- Antibiotic resistance; Marine pollution -- Periodicals; Marine Biology -- Periodicals; Water Pollution -- Periodicals; Mer -- Pollution -- Périodiques; Publications périodiques; Pollution des mers; Lutte antipollution; Electronic journals; 363.7394
• DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.02.027
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0025-326X

Abstract

Highlights: Density and diversity of Enterococcus sp. was influenced by tidal and seasons. E. hirae, E. avium and E. faecalis were frequently identified. Statistical tools were used to determine the species density and diversity. E. faecalis with major biomarker genes were detected. Most prevalent biomarker genes were gel E and asa 1. Abstract: This study was performed to evaluate the abundance and diversity of Enterococcus sp. and the distribution of biomarker genes in Enterococcus faecalis in Port Blair Bay, Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The Enterococcus sp. densities at the seven sampling stations were highly influenced by tidal fluctuations and season. The distributions and diversities of species varied in the inner and outer regions of Port Blair Bay. Among the 1816 total isolates, the occurrence of fecal Enterococcus was high (1.78 × 10 4 CFU/100 mL) in Phoenix Bay. Moreover, 67.76% of the isolates were identified as Enterococcus, and the most frequently identified species were E. hirae, E. avium and E. faecalis . Assessments of antibiotic resistance and biomarker genes revealed the maximum occurrence in the Aberdeen Bay isolates. The most prevalent biomarker genes observed in the E. faecalis isolates were gel E and asa 1, whereas cyl was not found among the isolates. In silico sequence analysis of biomarker genes of E . faecalis also revealed that they are evolutionarily well conserved with those of earlier reports. Further, multivariate analysis distinguished the JB, PB and OS stations from the other stations according to distinctive microbial densities and compositions. In addition, the Shannon-Wiener diversity indices and box-whisker plots further facilitated and supported the multivariate results.