Adult rabbits were inoculated orally (or duodenally) with virulent Vibrio cholerae O1. Jejunal colonization occurred only when hypoperistalsis was induced at the time of inoculation by tincture of opium given intraperitoneally (or by temporary ileal obstruction). For oral inoculation, prior neutralization of gastric acid was also required. Inoculation with 10(9) V. cholerae caused jejunal colon...

The distribution of genes for an outer membrane protein (OmpW) and a regulatory protein (ToxR) in Vibrio cholerae and other organisms was studied using respective primers and probes. PCR amplification results showed that all (100%) of the 254 V. cholerae strains tested were positive for ompW and 229 ( approximately 98%) of 233 were positive for toxR. None of the 40 strains belonging to other Vi...

The environmental reservoirs for Vibrio cholerae are natural aquatic habitats, where it colonizes the chitinous exoskeletons of copepod molts. Growth of V. cholerae on a chitin surface induces competence for natural transformation, a mechanism for intra-species gene exchange. The antigenically diverse O-serogroup determinants of V. cholerae are encoded by a genetically variable biosynthetic clu...

Cholera is a severe diarrheal disease typically caused by O1 serogroup strains of Vibrio cholerae. The pathogenicity of all pandemic V. cholerae O1 strains relies on two critical virulence factors: cholera toxin, a potent enterotoxin, and toxin coregulated pilus (TCP), an intestinal colonization factor. However, certain non-O1, non-O139 V. cholerae strains, such as AM-19226, do not produce chol...

UNLABELLED Siderophores, small iron-binding molecules secreted by many microbial species, capture environmental iron for transport back into the cell. Vibrio cholerae synthesizes and uses the catechol siderophore vibriobactin and also uses siderophores secreted by other species, including enterobactin produced by Escherichia coli. E. coli secretes both canonical cyclic enterobactin and linear e...

Fish have been considered natural reservoirs of Vibrio cholerae, the deadly diarrheal pathogen. However, little is known about the role of fish in the transmission of V. cholerae from the Bay of Bengal to the households of rural and urban Bangladesh. This study analyzes the incidence and pathogenic potential of V. cholerae in Hilsha (Tenualosa ilisha), a commonly caught and consumed fish that e...

The emergence of Vibrio cholerae O139 Bengal in 1993, its rapid spread in an epidemic form, in which it replaced existing strains of V. cholerae O1 during 1992 and 1993, and the subsequent reemergence of V. cholerae O1 of the El Tor biotype in Bangladesh since 1994 have raised questions regarding the origin of the reemerged El Tor vibrios. We studied 50 El Tor vibrio strains isolated in Banglad...

Cholera is a devastating diarrhoeal disease caused by certain strains of serogroup O1/O139 Vibrio cholerae. Mobile genetic elements such as genomic islands (GIs) have been pivotal in the evolution of O1/O139 V. cholerae. Perhaps the most important GI involved in cholera disease is the V. cholerae pathogenicity island 1 (VPI-1). This GI contains the toxin-coregulated pilus (TCP) gene cluster tha...

Cholera is a severe diarrheal disease caused by specific serogroups of Vibrio cholerae that are pathogenic to humans. The disease does not persist in a chronic state in humans or animals. The pathogen is naturally present as a free-living organism in the environment. Recently, it was suggested that egg masses of the nonbiting midge Chironomus sp. (Diptera) harbor and serve as a nutritive source...

Ingested Vibrio cholerae pass through the stomach and colonize the small intestines of its host. Here, we show that V. cholerae requires at least two types of DNA repair systems to efficiently compete for colonization of the infant mouse intestine. These results show that V. cholerae experiences increased DNA damage in the murine gastrointestinal tract. Agreeing with this, we show that passage ...