Skip to main content
PMC home page
Journal of Clinical Microbiology logoLink to Journal of Clinical Microbiology
. 1982 Jul;16(1):129–134. doi: 10.1128/jcm.16.1.129-134.1982

Molecular epidemiology of Vibrio cholerae in the U.S. Gulf Coast.

J B Kaper, H B Bradford, N C Roberts, S Falkow
PMCID: PMC272308  PMID: 7107852

Abstract

Enterotoxigenic strains of Vibrio cholerae O-1, biotype El Tor, isolated from a case of cholera in Texas in 1973, an outbreak of cholera in Louisiana in 1978, and Louisiana sewage samples in 1980 and 1981 were analyzed for their genetic similarities. Chromosomal DNA was isolated from each strain, digested with restriction endonuclease, and analyzed by the Southern blot technique. A radioactive probe consisting of Escherichia coli heat-labile enterotoxin DNA detected cholera toxin gene sequences in these strains and demonstrated that the toxin gene sequence, if not the entire chromosomal DNA, is identical in these strains and distinctly different from other strains of V. cholerae isolated throughout the world. In addition, two strains of enterotoxigenic V. cholerae non-O-1 isolated from clinical cases, were analyzed and found to possess cholera toxin genes which differed in the DNA sequence from the V. cholerae O-1 strains. We concluded that a single strain of enterotoxigenic V. cholerae O-1 is resident in the U.S. Gulf Coast and that a second reservoir of cholera toxin genes exists in V. cholerae non-O-1 strains in Louisiana.

Full text

PDF
132

Images in this article

132Image
on p.132
132Image
on p.132
133Image
on p.133

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Barrett T. J., Blake P. A. Epidemiological usefulness of changes in hemolytic activity of Vibrio cholerae biotype El Tor during the seventh pandemic. J Clin Microbiol. 1981 Jan;13(1):126–129. doi: 10.1128/jcm.13.1.126-129.1981. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Blake P. A., Allegra D. T., Snyder J. D., Barrett T. J., McFarland L., Caraway C. T., Feeley J. C., Craig J. P., Lee J. V., Puhr N. D. Cholera--a possible endemic focus in the United States. N Engl J Med. 1980 Feb 7;302(6):305–309. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198002073020601. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Brenner D. J., Fanning G. R., Johnson K. E., Citarella R. V., Falkow S. Polynucleotide sequence relationships among members of Enterobacteriaceae. J Bacteriol. 1969 May;98(2):637–650. doi: 10.1128/jb.98.2.637-650.1969. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Craig J. P., Yamamoto K., Takeda Y., Miwatani T. Production of cholera-like enterotoxin by a Vibrio cholerae non-O1 strain isolated from the environment. Infect Immun. 1981 Oct;34(1):90–97. doi: 10.1128/iai.34.1.90-97.1981. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Dallas W. S., Falkow S. Amino acid sequence homology between cholera toxin and Escherichia coli heat-labile toxin. Nature. 1980 Dec 4;288(5790):499–501. doi: 10.1038/288499a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Dallas W. S., Gill D. M., Falkow S. Cistrons encoding Escherichia coli heat-labile toxin. J Bacteriol. 1979 Sep;139(3):850–858. doi: 10.1128/jb.139.3.850-858.1979. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Davis B. R., Fanning G. R., Madden J. M., Steigerwalt A. G., Bradford H. B., Jr, Smith H. L., Jr, Brenner D. J. Characterization of biochemically atypical Vibrio cholerae strains and designation of a new pathogenic species, Vibrio mimicus. J Clin Microbiol. 1981 Dec;14(6):631–639. doi: 10.1128/jcm.14.6.631-639.1981. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Denhardt D. T. A membrane-filter technique for the detection of complementary DNA. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1966 Jun 13;23(5):641–646. doi: 10.1016/0006-291x(66)90447-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Kaper J. B., Levine M. M. Cloned cholera enterotoxin genes in study and prevention of cholera. Lancet. 1981 Nov 21;2(8256):1162–1163. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(81)90605-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Kaper J. B., Moseley S. L., Falkow S. Molecular characterization of environmental and nontoxigenic strains of Vibrio cholerae. Infect Immun. 1981 May;32(2):661–667. doi: 10.1128/iai.32.2.661-667.1981. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Kaper J., Lockman H., Colwell R. R., Joseph S. W. Ecology, serology, and enterotoxin production of Vibrio cholerae in Chesapeake Bay. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1979 Jan;37(1):91–103. doi: 10.1128/aem.37.1.91-103.1979. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Kelly M. T., Peterson J. W., Sarles H. E., Jr, Romanko M., Martin D., Hafkin B. Cholera on the Texas Gulf Coast. JAMA. 1982 Mar 19;247(11):1598–1599. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Kurosky A., Markel D. E., Peterson J. W. Covalent structure of the beta chain of cholera enterotoxin. J Biol Chem. 1977 Oct 25;252(20):7257–7264. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Levine M. M., Black R. E., Clements M. L., Cisneros L., Saah A., Nalin D. R., Gill D. M., Craig J. P., Young C. R., Ristaino P. The pathogenicity of nonenterotoxigenic Vibrio cholerae serogroup O1 biotype El Tor isolated from sewage water in Brazil. J Infect Dis. 1982 Mar;145(3):296–299. doi: 10.1093/infdis/145.3.296. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Maniatis T., Jeffrey A., Kleid D. G. Nucleotide sequence of the rightward operator of phage lambda. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1975 Mar;72(3):1184–1188. doi: 10.1073/pnas.72.3.1184. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Morris J. G., Jr, Wilson R., Davis B. R., Wachsmuth I. K., Riddle C. F., Wathen H. G., Pollard R. A., Blake P. A. Non-O group 1 Vibrio cholerae gastroenteritis in the United States: clinical, epidemiologic, and laboratory characteristics of sporadic cases. Ann Intern Med. 1981 May;94(5):656–658. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-94-5-656. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Moseley S. L., Falkow S. Nucleotide sequence homology between the heat-labile enterotoxin gene of Escherichia coli and Vibrio cholerae deoxyribonucleic acid. J Bacteriol. 1980 Oct;144(1):444–446. doi: 10.1128/jb.144.1.444-446.1980. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Oashi M., Shimada T., Fukumi H. In vitro production of enterotoxin and hemorrhagic principle by Vibrio cholerae, NAG. Jpn J Med Sci Biol. 1972 Jun;25(3):179–194. doi: 10.7883/yoken1952.25.179. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. So M., Dallas W. S., Falkow S. Characterization of an Escherichia coli plasmid encoding for synthesis of heat-labile toxin: molecular cloning of the toxin determinant. Infect Immun. 1978 Aug;21(2):405–411. doi: 10.1128/iai.21.2.405-411.1978. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Southern E. M. Detection of specific sequences among DNA fragments separated by gel electrophoresis. J Mol Biol. 1975 Nov 5;98(3):503–517. doi: 10.1016/s0022-2836(75)80083-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Spicer E. K., Kavanaugh W. M., Dallas W. S., Falkow S., Konigsberg W. H., Schafer D. E. Sequence homologies between A subunits of Escherichia coli and Vibrio cholerae enterotoxins. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1981 Jan;78(1):50–54. doi: 10.1073/pnas.78.1.50. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Twedt R. M., Madden J. M., Hunt J. M., Francis D. W., Peeler J. T., Duran A. P., Hebert W. O., McCay S. G., Roderick C. N., Spite G. T. Characterization of Vibrio cholerae isolated from oysters. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1981 Jun;41(6):1475–1478. doi: 10.1128/aem.41.6.1475-1478.1981. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Clinical Microbiology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES