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omp U genes in non‐toxigenic Vibrio cholerae associated with aquaculture
Author(s) -
Karunasagar Indrani,
Rivera I.,
Joseph B.,
Kennedy B.,
Shetty V.R.,
Huq A.,
Karunasagar Iddya,
Colwell R.R.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
journal of applied microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.889
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1365-2672
pISSN - 1364-5072
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2672.2003.01984.x
Subject(s) - vibrio cholerae , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , virulence , serotype , vibrionaceae , gene , pathogen , cholera , bacteria , vibrio , genetics
Aims: The study was undertaken with the objective of understanding the virulence‐associated genes of the CTX and TCP gene clusters in environmental isolates of Vibrio cholerae , an important human pathogen, isolated from the aquaculture environment. The involvement of the omp U gene in conferring bile resistance in these isolates was also evaluated. Methods and Results: The V. cholerae isolates were tested by PCR and fluorescent antibody test for O1 (Ogawa and Inaba) and O139 serotypes. All isolates were found to be non‐toxigenic V. cholerae confirmed by their positive PCR reaction for tox R but negative for ctx , zot and tcp gene. The hly A gene was detected in 85% of the strains and omp U in 77%. The results on the bactericidal effect of bile salts suggest that omp U may play a role in conferring bile resistance in non‐O1/non‐O139 strains. Conclusion: The results of the study indicate that most environmental strains lacked the CTX and TCP gene clusters. However, most isolates had the hly A gene indicating the potential of these environmental strains to cause mild gastroenteritis. It was also observed that strains lacking omp U showed less tolerance to bile salts. Significance and Impact of the Study: Information on virulence factors of V. cholerae associated with aquaculture environment and products would be of value in risk assessment for human health.