International audienceVibrio tapetis is the marine bacterium responsible for the brown ring disease (BRD) affecting the manila clam, Ruditapes philippinarum. Identification of V. tapetis has been previously performed using biochemical criteria and serological procedures. All of these methods are time consuming and ill-adapted to individual screening. This study describes an oligonucleotidic probe (Vt446) and two PCR primers, deduced from the 16S rDNA sequence, allowing a fast and specific V. tapetis identification using dot blot hybridisation and species-specific primed PCR (SSP-PCR). The probe and primers have been tested on 60 strains, including referenced Vibrio sp., Gram negative and positive bacteria, marine bacteria samples and isolat...