Purpose

Ballast water is one of the most important ways for the transfer of aquatic organisms such as Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Vibrio cholerae. The aim of this study was to investigate Mdh gene of E. coli and the OmpW gene of Vibrio cholerae bacteria by PCR technique in the ballast water of commercial ships entering Bushehr port along the Persian Gulf.

Methods

In this study, 34 samples of ballast water entered Bushehr port were studied by using culture and PCR methods to determine Mdh gene of E. coli and OmpW gene of Vibrio cholerae. Genomic DNA of bacterial strains was extracted and PCR was performed by using specific primers of E. coli and Vibrio cholerae.

Results

The specific Mdh gene of E. coli was detected in 4 ballast water samples and the positive samples were analyzed by antisera methods for E. coli O157:H7. Results of antisera showed that there were 3 positive samples of O157:H7 serotype. The results of the PCR technique showed that the OmpW gene of Vibrio cholerae was negative for all positive culture samples.

Conclusions

Further studies are highly recommended to monitor other aquatic organisms in ballast water to protect the marine environment.

中文翻译：

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商船压载水中大肠杆菌和霍乱弧菌的分子检测：波斯湾沿岸的初步研究

目的

压载水是大肠杆菌（E.coli）和霍乱弧菌等水生生物转移的最重要途径之一。本研究的目的是通过PCR技术在波斯湾进入布什尔港的商船压载水中研究大肠杆菌的Mdh基因和霍乱弧菌的OmpW基因。

方法

本研究对进入布什尔港的34份压载水样本进行了研究，采用培养和PCR方法，确定了大肠杆菌的Mdh基因和霍乱弧菌的OmpW基因。提取菌株的基因组DNA，用大肠杆菌和霍乱弧菌的特异性引物进行PCR 。

结果

在4份压载水样品中检测到大肠杆菌的特异性Mdh基因，阳性样品采用大肠杆菌O157:H7的抗血清方法分析。抗血清结果显示O157:H7血清型阳性3例。PCR技术结果显示，所有阳性培养样品的霍乱弧菌OmpW基因均为阴性。

结论

强烈建议进一步研究以监测压载水中的其他水生生物，以保护海洋环境。