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Characterization of Novel Alleles of Toxin Co-Regulated Pilus A Gene (tcpA) from Environmental Isolates of Vibrio cholerae

Current Microbiology volume 62, pages 758–763 (2011)Cite this article

Abstract

Vibrio cholerae is causative agent of life threatening diarrheal disease, cholera. The toxin co-regulated pilus (TCP) is a critical colonization factor of V. cholerae and it also serves as receptor for CTXФ. In this study, we describe nucleotide sequence of four novel alleles of tcpA gene from toxigenic and non-toxigenic V. cholerae isolated from environmental sources. The phylogenetic analysis of tcpA revealed that it is related to tcpA of newly emerged O1 strain and unrelated to tcpA of wild type (classical and El Tor strains). All strains showed variant tcpA and also harbored intact Vibrio Pathogenicity Island (VPI). The expression of all variant alleles was demonstrated by RT-PCR.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by an intramural support from Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Trivandrum, India. Praveen Kumar gratefully acknowledges the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Govt. of India for research fellowship. We are grateful to Dr. D. V. Singh, Institute of Life Sciences, Bhubaneswar, India for providing V. cholerae strains VC20 and 569B used in this study. The authors are thankful to Prof. M. Radhakrishna Pillai, Director, RGCB for the facilities provided. The helpful technical assistance of Dr. Manoj P, Technical Officer, RGCB is acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular Microbiology, Cholera and Environmental Microbiology Laboratory, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Trivandrum, Kerala, India

    Praveen Kumar, Anuja Thulaseedharan & Sabu Thomas

  2. National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, P-33, CIT Road, Scheme XM, Beleghata, Kolkata, 700 010, India

    Gautam Chowdhury & Thandavarayan Ramamurthy

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  1. Praveen Kumar
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  2. Anuja Thulaseedharan
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  3. Gautam Chowdhury
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  4. Thandavarayan Ramamurthy
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  5. Sabu Thomas
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Correspondence to Sabu Thomas.

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Kumar, P., Thulaseedharan, A., Chowdhury, G. et al. Characterization of Novel Alleles of Toxin Co-Regulated Pilus A Gene (tcpA) from Environmental Isolates of Vibrio cholerae . Curr Microbiol 62, 758–763 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-010-9774-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-010-9774-3

Keywords

  • Horizontal Gene Transfer
  • Necrotizing Fasciitis
  • Toxigenic Strain
  • Cholerae Strain
  • tcpA Gene