Vibrio cholerae

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Vibrio cholerae

TEM image

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Bacteria
Phylum:	Proteobacteria
Class:	Gamma Proteobacteria
Order:	Vibrionales
Family:	Vibrionaceae
Genus:	Vibrio
Species:	V. cholerae

Binomial name

Vibrio cholerae
Pacini 1854

Vibrio cholerae (also Kommabacillus) is a gram negative bacterium with a curved-rod shape that causes cholera in humans.^[1] V. cholerae and other species of the genus Vibrio belong to the gamma subdivision of the Proteobacteria. There are two major strains of V. cholerae, classic and El Tor, and numerous other serogroups.

V. cholerae was first isolated as the cause of cholera by Italian anatomist Filippo Pacini in 1854, but his discovery was not widely known until Robert Koch, working independently thirty years later, publicized the knowledge and the means of fighting the disease.^{[citation needed]}

1 Habitat
2 Pathogenesis
3 See also
4 References
5 External links

Habitat

V. cholerae occurs naturally in the plankton of fresh, brackish, and salt water, attached primarily to copepods in the zooplankton. Coastal cholera outbreaks typically follow zooplankton blooms. This makes cholera a typical zoonosis.

Pathogenesis

V. cholerae colonizes the gastrointestinal tract, where it adheres to villi. Additionally, it produces two different proteases called chitinase and mucinase. Chitinase is responsible for the ability of Vibrio cholerae to enter copapods. Mucinase is a non-specific protease that assists entry into the human gastro-intestinal tract.

Vibrio cholerae produces what is called a ZOT toxin, termed as "Zona Occludans Toxin". This toxin specifically attacks the zona occludans or "tight" junctions joining epithelial cells.