Virulence factors of clinical and environmental strains of Vibrio cholerae non-O1, non O139, isolated in Córdoba, Argentina.

BIDINOST, CARLA; SAKA, HECTOR A.; ALIENDRO, OLGA; SOLA, CLAUDIA; PANZETTA-DUTARI, GRACIELA; PATRITO, ETHEL; BOCCO, JOSE LUIS

REVISTA ARGENTINA DE MICROBIOLOGíA

Asociacion Argentina de Microbiologia

Lugar: Buenos Aires; Año: 2004 vol. 36 p. 158 - 158

0325-7541

. cholerae non-O1 non-O139 serogroups isolated from clinical and environmental sources in Cordoba, Argentina, were analyzed for the presence and expression of virulence genes. Most of the strains studied contained the genes toxR and hlyA, but lacked ctxA, zot, ace, tcpA and stn. The culture supernatants were tested for hemolytic and cytotoxic activity. The enterotoxic potential of the strains was studied in a rabbit ileal loop assay and their genetic profiles were compared by PFGE. The environmental strains varied in their virulence phenotype and showed no clonal relationships. The clinical strains were highly enterotoxic, hemolytic, proteolytic and showed indistinguishable PFGE profiles, although they differed in their cytotoxic activity. This is the first description, using cell culture and "in vivo" studies, of the virulence properties of non-O1 non-O139 V. cholerae from Argentina.