Tracking Vibrio cholerae Cell-Cell Interactions during Infection Reveals Bacterial Population Dynamics within Intestinal Microenvironments.

ABSTRACT: Vibrio cholerae is the causative agent of the diarrheal disease cholera. Although many V. cholerae virulence factors have been studied, the role of interbacterial interactions within the host gut and their influence on colonization are poorly understood. Here, we utilized the conjugative properties of a Vibrio-specific plasmid to serve as a quantifiable genetic marker for direct contact among V. cholerae cells in the infant rabbit model for cholera. In conjunction, we also quantified contact-dependent type 6 secretion system (T6SS)-mediated killing of co-infecting V. cholerae strains. Tracking these interbacterial interactions revealed that most contact-dependent cell-cell interactions among V. cholerae occur in specific intestinal microenvironments, notably the distal small intestine and

SUBMITTER: Fu Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6031135 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature