Vibrionaceae

Introduction
• Vibrionaceae are Gram-negative organisms and facultative anaerobes,
capable of fermentation.
• They contain oxidase and have one or more flagella, which are
generally polar
In marine
Important genera
Cholera
G characteristics
• Members of the genus Vibrio are defined as Gram-negative,
asporogenous rods that are straight or have a single, rigid curve.
• They are motile; most have a single polar flagellum, when grown in
liquid medium.
• Most produce oxidase and catalase, and ferment glucose without
producing gas
• Three species, V. cholerae, V. parahaemolyticus, and V. vulnificus, are
well-documented human pathogens
Growth
TCBS and Blood agar
V cholerae on MacConkey agar
Cholera
45
Phage in V. cholerae
Toxin
• Cholera toxin (also known as p-0 and sometimes abbreviated to CTX,
Ctx or CT) is AB5 multimeric protein complex secreted by the
bacterium Vibrio cholerae.
• CTX is responsible for the massive, watery diarrhea characteristic of
cholera infection. It is a member of the Heat-labile enterotoxin family
• The A1 fragment catalyzes the attachment of ADP-Ribose (ADPR) to
the regulatory protein forming Gs-ADPR from which GTP cannot be
hydrolyzed. Since GTP hydrolysis is the event that inactivates the
adenylate cyclase, the enzyme remains continually activated
Effect of toxin
• The net effect of the toxin is to cause cAMP to be produced at an
abnormally high rate which stimulates mucosal cells to pump large
amounts of Cl- into the intestinal contents.
• H2O, Na+ and other electrolytes follow due to the osmotic and
electrical gradients caused by the loss of Cl-.
• The lost H2O and electrolytes in mucosal cells are replaced from the
blood.
• Thus, the toxin-damaged cells become pumps for water and
electrolytes causing the diarrhea, loss of electrolytes, and dehydration
that are characteristic of cholera
Symptoms
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