Abstract
We examined the genomic diversity of 29 representative Vibrio parahaemolyticus strains based on amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) and multilocus sequence analysis (MLSA). Several strains had indistinguishable AFLP patterns, suggesting high genomic similarity. Recombination detection methods and phylogenetic reconstructions based on the gene sequences of recombination/repair protein (recA), DNA gyrase beta subunit (gyrB), and phosphoglucomutase (pgm) revealed that recombination has occurred within the species V. parahaemolyticus. We suggest that homologous recombination is an important force in the evolution of V. parahaemolyticus.
