microbiology, Vol 144, 315-324, Copyright © 1998 by Society for General Microbiology

ARTICLES

Characterization and possible functions of a new filamentous bacteriophage from Vibrio cholerae O139

EA Jouravleva, GA McDonald, CF Garon, M Boesman-Finkelstein and RA Finkelstein
Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia 65212, USA.

The emergence and rapid rise to dominance of Vibrio cholerae O139 in India and Bangladesh in 1992 led to the consideration that choleraphage might serve as both a selective mechanism and a means for horizontal transmission of genetic information. A filamentous phage '493' from O139 strain AJ27-493 has been purified and partially characterized. The phage was inactive on classical biotype V. cholerae O1 but it was active on El Tor biotype strains isolated prior to 1994 when El Tor re- emerged in Bangladesh. More recent El Tor isolates were all resistant to the phage. The phage was also active on O139 strains. Unlike the filamentous ctx phi, the receptor for 493 is not TcpA. The phage genome was a 9.3 kb closed circular single-stranded molecule containing a 0.4 kb double-stranded stem supporting a 2 kb single-stranded loop. A 283 bp fragment was cloned and used as a probe in Southern hybridization, in parallel with total phage 493 DNA. These probes hybridized both chromosomally and extrachromosomally with most O139 strains, but not with O1 strains. Infection of hybridization-negative El Tor or O139 strains resulted in the presence of hybridizing loci (both plasmid and chromosomal), in the appearance of an 18 kDa protein, and in marked alterations in colonial morphology. Phage 493 is clearly distinct from other O139 choleraphages which have been described. Phage 493 DNA hybridized with an encapsulated non-O1 (O31) strain (NRT36S) which was isolated before O139 was recognized. NRT36S also produces a phage which can infect El Tor strains with low efficiency. Further studies may reveal whether bacteriophage play a role in the emergence and the territoriality of new choleragenic vibrios.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S. M. Faruque, M. J. Islam, Q. S. Ahmad, A. S. G. Faruque, D. A. Sack, G. B. Nair, and J. J. Mekalanos Self-limiting nature of seasonal cholera epidemics: Role of host-mediated amplification of phage PNAS, April 26, 2005; 102(17): 6119 - 6124. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. M. Faruque, I. B. Naser, M. J. Islam, A. S. G. Faruque, A. N. Ghosh, G. B. Nair, D. A. Sack, and J. J. Mekalanos Seasonal epidemics of cholera inversely correlate with the prevalence of environmental cholera phages PNAS, February 1, 2005; 102(5): 1702 - 1707. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. Campos, E. Martinez, K. Marrero, Y. Silva, B. L. Rodriguez, E. Suzarte, T. Ledon, and R. Fando Novel Type of Specialized Transduction for CTX{phi} or Its Satellite Phage RS1 Mediated by Filamentous Phage VGJ{phi} in Vibrio cholerae J. Bacteriol., December 15, 2003; 185(24): 7231 - 7240. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. Campos, E. Martinez, E. Suzarte, B. L. Rodriguez, K. Marrero, Y. Silva, T. Ledon, R. del Sol, and R. Fando VGJ{phi}, a Novel Filamentous Phage of Vibrio cholerae, Integrates into the Same Chromosomal Site as CTX{phi} J. Bacteriol., October 1, 2003; 185(19): 5685 - 5696. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. M. Faruque, M. Kamruzzaman, Asadulghani, D. A. Sack, J. J. Mekalanos, and G. B. Nair CTXPhi -independent production of the RS1 satellite phage by Vibriocholerae PNAS, February 4, 2003; 100(3): 1280 - 1285. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. H. Kimsey and M. K. Waldor Vibrio cholerae Hemagglutinin/Protease Inactivates CTXphi Infect. Immun., September 1, 1998; 66(9): 4025 - 4029. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. A. Jouravleva, G. A. McDonald, J. W. Marsh, R. K. Taylor, M. Boesman-Finkelstein, and R. A. Finkelstein The Vibrio cholerae Mannose-Sensitive Hemagglutinin Is the Receptor for a Filamentous Bacteriophage from V. cholerae O139 Infect. Immun., June 1, 1998; 66(6): 2535 - 2539. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]