title: Detection of heat-stable enterotoxin genes among Australian Vibrio cholerae O1 strains.
abstract: DNA probes derived from the heat-stable enterotoxin gene of Vibrio cholerae non-O1 (stn), and the cholera toxin gene (ctx), were used to screen 199 strains of V. cholerae O1, which were isolated within Australia from 1977-1986. 13 environmental strains isolated from the riverine environment in Southeast Queensland in 1980 and 1981, hybridized with the stn and ctx DNA probes. The concentrated supernatant of 6 of these strains elicited fluid accumulation in the infant mouse assay both before and after heating at 100 degrees C for 5 min. Genetic relationships among the 13 stn+ strains were studied by a comparison of the rRNA-RFLPs (ribotyping) and by Southern blot analysis with a stn gene probe. The results indicate that there is a clonal relationship among the Australian stn+ strains and that there is an environmental reservoir of stn genes among Australian V. cholerae O1 isolates.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, University of Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: K E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Mallard
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Desmarchelier
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001315:Australia; D004197:Disease Reservoirs; D004768:Enterotoxins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000633:toxicity; D004783:Environmental Microbiology; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D014734:Vibrio cholerae / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D014774:Virulence / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D004768:Enterotoxins; C037420:stN protein, Vibrio cholerae