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Rapid Growth of Planktonic Vibrio cholerae Non-O1/Non-O139 Strains in a Large Alkaline Lake in Austria: Dependence on Temperature and Dissolved Organic Carbon Quality ^,

Alexander K. T. Kirschner,^1* Jane Schlesinger,² Andreas H. Farnleitner,³ Romana Hornek,⁴ Beate Süß,⁵ Beate Golda,⁶ Alois Herzig,⁶ and Bettina Reitner^2,

Clinical Institute of Hygiene and Medical Microbiology, Water Hygiene, Medical University Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria,¹ Institute of Ecology and Conservation, Department of Marine Biology, University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria,² Institute of Chemical Engineering, Vienna University of Technology, 1060 Vienna, Austria,³ Institute for Water Quality, Resources and Waste Management, Vienna University of Technology, 1040 Vienna, Austria,⁴ Institute of Bacteriology, Mycology and Hygiene, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, 1210 Vienna, Austria,⁵ Research Institute Burgenland, 7142 Illmitz, Austria⁶

Received 27 July 2007/ Accepted 25 January 2008

Vibrio cholerae non-O1/non-O139 strains have caused several cases of ear, wound, and blood infections, including one lethal case of septicemia in Austria, during recent years. All of these cases had a history of local recreational activities in the large eastern Austrian lake Neusiedler See. Thus, a monitoring program was started to investigate the prevalence of V. cholerae strains in the lake over several years. Genetic analyses of isolated strains revealed the presence of a variety of pathogenic genes, but in no case did we detect the cholera toxin gene or the toxin-coregulated pilus gene, both of which are prerequisites for the pathogen to be able to cause cholera. In addition, experiments were performed to elucidate the preferred ecological niche of this pathogen. As size filtration experiments indicated and laboratory microcosms showed, endemic V. cholerae could rapidly grow in a free-living state in natural lake water at growth rates similar to those of the bulk natural bacterial population. Temperature and the quality of dissolved organic carbon had a highly significant influence on V. cholerae growth. Specific growth rates, growth yield, and enzyme activity decreased markedly with increasing concentrations of high-molecular-weight substances, indicating that the humic substances originating from the extensive reed belt in the lake can inhibit V. cholerae growth.

Published ahead of print on 1 February 2008.

Supplemental material for this article may be found at http://aem.asm.org/.

Present address: FWF, Austrian Science Fund, Sensengasse 1, 1090 Vienna, Austria.