INFLUENCE OF GROWTH TEMPERATURE ON THE PRODUCTION OF EXTRACELLULAR VIRULENCE FACTORS AND PATHOGENICITY OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND HUMAN STRAINS OF AEROMONAS-HYDROPHILA

The biochemical properties, virulence for mice and trout, and the extracellular virulence factors at 28-degrees-C and 37-degrees-C of 11 environmental and nine human strains of Aeromonas hydrophila were compared. All the environmental isolates and four of the human group were virulent for trout at 3 x 10(7) cfu, but only human strains were able to cause death or lesions in mice by the intramuscular route. Extracellular virulence factors such as haemolysins, cytotoxins and proteases were also investigated in supernatant fluids of cultures grown at 28-degrees-C and 37-degrees-C. The production of haemolysins, caseinases, elastases and growth yields of environmental strains decreased sharply during cultivation at 37-degrees-C but cytotoxins were produced to the same extent, or slightly less, than at 28-degrees-C. The human strains differed from the environmental strains in response to growth temperatures: protease activity decreased at 37-degrees-C, although growth yield was not affected, but more haemolysins and cytotoxins were produced by the virulent strains at this temperature than at 28-degrees-C. Sodium caseinate SDS-PAGE of culture supernatant fluids of selected human strains revealed that temperature selectively inhibited the production of certain proteases.