Role of Shrimp Chitin in the Ecology of Toxigenic Vibrio cholerae and Cholera Transmission

Seasonal plankton blooms correlate with occurrence of cholera in Bangladesh, although the mechanism of how dormant Vibrio cholerae, enduring interepidemic period in biofilms and plankton, initiates seasonal cholera is not fully understood. In this study, laboratory microcosms prepared with estuarine Mathbaria water (MW) samples supported active growth of toxigenic V. cholerae O1 up to 7 weeks as opposed to 6 months when microcosms were supplemented with dehydrated shrimp chitin chips (CC) as the single source of nutrient. Bacterial counting and detection of wbe and ctxA genes were done employing culture, direct fluorescent antibody (DFA) assay, and multiplex-polymerase chain reaction methods. In MW microcosm, the aqueous phase became clear as the non-culturable cells settled, whereas the aqueous phase of the MW–CC microcosm became turbid from bacterial growth stimulated by chitin. Bacterial chitin degradation and biofilm formation proceeded from an initial steady state to a gradually declining bacterial culturable count. V. cholerae within the microenvironments of chitin and chitin-associated biofilms remained metabolically active even in a high acidic environment without losing either viability or virulence. It is concluded that the abundance of chitin that occurs during blooms plays an important role in the aquatic life cycle of V. cholerae and, ultimately, in the seasonal transmission of cholera

Occurrence and Diversity of Clinically Important Vibrio Species in the Aquatic Environment of Georgia

Among the more than 70 different Vibrio species inhabiting marine, estuarine, and freshwater ecosystems, 12 are recognized as human pathogens. The warm subtropical climate of the Black Sea coastal area and inland regions of Georgia likely provides a favorable environment for various Vibrio species. From 2006 to 2009, the abundance, ecology, and diversity of clinically important Vibrio species were studied in different locations in Georgia and across seasons. Over a 33-month period, 1,595 presumptive Vibrio isolates were collected from the Black Sea (n=657) and freshwater lakes around Tbilisi (n=938). Screening of a subset of 440 concentrated and enriched water samples by PCR-electrospray ionization/mass spectrometry (PCR-ESI/MS) detected the presence of DNA from eight clinically important Vibrio species: V. cholerae, V. parahaemolyticus, V. vulnificus, V. mimicus, V. alginolyticus, V. harveyi, V. metschnikovii, and V. cincinnatiensis. Almost ninety percent of PCR/ESI-MS samples positive for Vibrio species were collected from June through November. Three important human pathogenic Vibrio species (V. cholerae, V. parahaemolyticus, and V. vulnificus) were detected in 62.8%, 37.8%, and 21.4% of samples testing positive for vibrios, respectively. The results of these activities suggest that natural reservoirs for human-pathogenic Vibrios exist in Georgian aquatic environments. Water temperature at all sampling sites was positively correlated with the abundance of clinically important Vibrio spp. (except V. metschnikovii) and salinity was correlated with species composition at particular Black Sea sites as well as inland reservoirs