Potential for in vivo acquisition of R plasmids by one strain of Vibrio cholerae biotype El tor

Characterization and restriction analysis of the P sex factor and the cryptic plasmid of Vibrio cholerae strain V58

The P plasmid of Vibrio cholerae is a derepressed sex factor restricted to V. cholerae and has been shown to express surface exclusion. We have isolated the plasmids of strain V58 and have found that in addition to P, two further cryptic plasmids are also present. P has a size of 68 kb as determined by both electron microscopy and restriction endonuclease analysis. These other plasmids are 34 and 4.7 kb in size. Restriction maps of P and the larger cryptic plasmid have been determined. It has been demonstrated that P differs from the standard Inc group test plasmids and also expresses a surface exclusion system. The ability of the type Inc plasmids to be transferred to V. cholerae by either liquid or filter matings and the stability of these plasmids in V. cholerae have also been examined.

Cloning of extracellular DNase and construction of a DNase-negative strain of Vibrio cholerae

The structural gene xds for extracellular DNase of Vibrio cholerae was cloned and inactivated by insertion of the transposon Tn5. The inactivated gene was introduced into the chromosome of V. cholerae by recombination to construct an extracellular DNase-negative strain. Tn5-mediated transposon-facilitated recombination was used to establish the position of xds between the pro-1 and ile-201 markers on the genetic map of V. cholerae. The extracellular DNase-negative strain described here should be useful for investigating the role of the xds-encoded DNase in the physiology of V. cholerae and its plasmids as well as for characterizing other DNases in this organism.

Global surveillance of antibiotic sensitivity of Vibrio cholerae

Strains of Vibrio cholerae-1156 from various parts of the world-were examined by standardized antibiotic sensitivity tests in one centre, to determine the global incidence of antibiotic resistance in this organism and to assess the extent to which differences in methods of sensitivity testing might be responsible for discrepancies in the reported incidence of resistant strains. Of the strains examined, 1127 were fully sensitive to ampicillin, chloramphenicol, tetracycline, furazolidone, and three different sulphonamides, 27 showed stable and reproducible resistance to one or more of these agents, and 2 proved to contain a minority of cells with unstable, presumably plasmid-borne, resistance to chloram-phenicol. Unstable resistance to antibiotics may be common in V. cholerae but rarely recognized, and may account for some of the discrepancies in the reported incidence of resistant strains.