Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

The recent emergence of the human-pathogenic Vibrio vulnificus in Israel was investigated by using multilocus genotype data and modern molecular evolutionary analysis tools. We show that this pathogen is a hybrid organism that evolved by the hybridization of the genomes from 2 distinct and independent populations. These findings provide clear evidence of how hybridization between 2 existing and nonpathogenic forms has apparently led to the emergence of an epidemic infectious disease caused by this pathogenic variant. This novel observation shows yet another way in which epidemic organisms arise.

Original publication

DOI

10.3201/eid1101.040440

Type

Journal article

Journal

Emerg Infect Dis

Publication Date

01/2005

Volume

11

Pages

30 - 35

Keywords

Animals, Bacterial Proteins, Bacterial Typing Techniques, Chromosomes, Bacterial, Communicable Diseases, Emerging, Disease Outbreaks, Environmental Microbiology, Evolution, Molecular, Genotype, Humans, Israel, Recombination, Genetic, Sequence Analysis, DNA, Vibrio Infections, Vibrio vulnificus