A genetic marker for Lactococcus garvieae ecotypes

Lactococcus garvieae is considered as an emerging pathogen of increasing clinical significance in the fields of fish farming (Eyngor et al. 2004; Kawanishi et al. 2006). It has also been isolated from clinical specimens of human blood, urine and skin, indicating the expanding importance of this bacterium in the fields of veterinary and human medicine. Few reports on pathogenicity of L. garvieae in yellowtails indicate the cell capsule as the most important virulence factor in this species. However, deepened studies on L. garvieae have not been carried out. This is an important point, principally after the detection of L. garvieae in many food products. Particularly, this organism has been isolated in the dairy environment either as nondominant species or as prevalent bacterial population (Fortina et al. 2003). For these reasons, the possibility to discriminate L. garvieae strains on the specific ecological niches is of great practical interest.