Vibrio

VIBRIO
OBJECTIVES
1. Know the habitat in which Vibrio
are found.
2. Describe the colony morphology and
microscopic characteristics Vibrio cholerae
3. Discuss the appropriate specimen, transport,
and processing for maximum recovery of the
organism.
4. List the media of choice for isolation of
organism
5. Discuss key biochemical reactions that will help
isolate and identify Vibrio cholerae
 The genus Vibrio resides in the family
Vibrionaceae
 Vibrio spp. are commonly found in a wide
variety of aquatic environments, including fresh
water, brackish or estuarine water, and marine
or salt water
 They are asporogenous, Gram-negative rods
and non capsulated
 Motility by polar flagellum
 They can be highly pleomorphic especially
under suboptimal growth conditions.
 They are facultative anaerobe
 Oxidase positive
 They reduce nitrate to nitrite
 The name“vibrio” is derived from the
characteristic vibratory motility (from
vibrare, meaning to vibrate).
 Vibrio cholerae, Vibrio parahaemolyticus,
and Vibrio vulnificus are the most
prominent species causing human
infections
VIBRIO CHOLERAE
 V. cholerae are the most important species that
cause cholera.
 Gram negative comma shaped rods
 They are actively motile by the presence of a
single polar flagellum.
 They show typical darting type motility and
appear as a “swarm of gnats” when examined
under the microscope
 Transmission by oro-faecal route. However,
improperly preserved and handled foods,
including fish and seafood, milk, ice cream, and
unpreserved meat, have been responsible for
outbreaks.
 V. cholerae are strongly aerobic
 Grow better in an alkaline medium
 Unlike other halophilic bacteria, V.
cholerae can grow in the absence of
salt.
Cell Wall Components and
Antigenic
Structure
 V. cholerae possess lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The
LPS has no role in the pathogenesis of cholera but
is responsible for the immunity produced by killed
V. cholerae vaccine.
 V. cholerae possess two antigens:
 Somatic O antigen is present in the cell wall of
the bacteria. It is a group-specific antigen.
 Flagellar H antigen is a heat-labile antigen
present in the flagella and is shared by all
strains of V. cholerae
Serological classification
 V. cholerae have been classified according to

somatic carbohydrate O antigen into many
serotypes
 More than 200 serotypes have been described,
which have been classified broadly into two
groups—V. cholerae O1 and non-O1
 V. cholerae O1 agglutinate with antisera to the O1 group
and are called cholera vibrios or agglutinable vibrios.
 Non-O1 V. cholerae, which do not agglutinate with O1
group antisera, are designated as non cholera vibrios or
non agglutinating vibrios.
 V. cholera 01 is subdivided into two biotypes—
Eltor and Classical, on the basis of their
biochemical parameters.
• Each biotype has been divided
further into three subtypes—Ogawa,
Inaba, and
Hikojima based on the O antigen
Serotypes of Vibrio cholerae O1
Virulence factors of Vibrio
cholerae
ACTION OF CHOLERA TOXIN
 Once V. cholerae is ingested, the bacteria colonize the
small intestine, in which they multiply and produce
choleragen(cholera toxin).
 The toxin consists of two toxic A subunits and five
binding B subunits. The B subunits bind to the GM1
ganglioside receptor on the cell membrane.
 The A2 subunit facilitates the entrance of the A1
subunit. Once inside the cell, the active A1 subunit
stimulates the production of adenylate cyclase
through the inactivation of G protein.
 This leads to an accumulation of cyclic adenosine
monophosphate (cAMP) along the cell membrane,
which stimulates hypersecretion of electrolytes (Na+,
K+, HCO3-) and water out of the cell and into the
lumen of the intestine
LABORATORY DIAGNOSIS
 Fresh stool specimen, rectal swab
 ‘Rice water stool’ is a characteristic
feature
 Transport in APW, Cary Blair
 Inoculate on TCBS
 They produce yellow colony on TCBS
 Perform oxidase test
 Gram show Gram negative comma shaped
rods
 They show typical darting type motility
SUGGESTED READING LIST
• Rajesh Bhatia and Rattan Lal
Ichhpujani (2008). Essentials of
Medical Microbiology. 4th Edition.
Jaypee Brothers
• Ryan K.J.,Ray C.G., N. Ahmed and w.l.

Drew (2014) Sherris medical
microbiology:6th Edition McGraw
Hill. Medical New York.

Vibrio

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VIBRIO

 V. cholerae have been classified according to

• Ryan K.J.,Ray C.G., N. Ahmed and w.l.

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