Cholera stool bacteria repress chemotaxis to increase infectivity.
Factors that enhance the transmission of pathogens are poorly understood. We show that Vibrio cholerae shed in human 'rice-water' stools have a 10-fold lower oral infectious dose in an animal model than in vitro grown V. cholerae, which may aid in transmission during outbreaks. Furthermore, we identify a bacterial factor contributing to this enhanced infectivity: The achievement of a transient motile but chemotaxis-defective state upon shedding from humans. Rice-water stool V. cholerae have reduced levels of CheW-1, which is essential for chemotaxis, and were consequently shown to have a chemotaxis defect when tested in capillary assays. Through mutational analyses, such a state is known to enhance the infectivity of V. cholerae. This is the first report of a pathogen altering its chemotactic state in response to human infection in order to enhance its transmission.
Butler
Susan M
SM
Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02111, USA.
Nelson
Eric J
EJ
Chowdhury
Nityananda
N
Faruque
Shah M
SM
Calderwood
Stephen B
SB
Camilli
Andrew
A
D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D002633:Chemotaxis / Q000235:genetics; D002771:Cholera / Q000382:microbiology*; D018562:Disease Transmission, Infectious; D015536:Down-Regulation; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology*; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D017384:Sequence Deletion; D014734:Vibrio cholerae / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D041241:Vibrio cholerae O1 / Q000472:pathogenicity
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; C051236:CheW protein, Bacteria