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Appl. Environ. Microbiol. doi:10.1128/AEM.01739-07
Copyright (c) 2008, American Society for Microbiology and/or the Listed Authors/Institutions. All Rights Reserved.

Rapid growth of planktonic Vibrio cholerae nonO1/nonO139 in a large alkaline lake in Austria: dependence on temperature and DOC quality

Clinical Institute of Hygiene and Medical Microbiology, Water Hygiene, Medical University Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria; Institute of Ecology and Conservation, Dept. of Marine Biology, University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria; Institute of Chemical Engineering, Vienna University of Technology, 1060 Vienna, Austria; Institute for Water Quality, Resources and Waste Management, Vienna University of Technology, 1040 Vienna, Austria; Institute of Bacteriology, Mycology and Hygiene, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna; 1210 Vienna, Austria; Research Institute Burgenland, 7142 Illmitz, Austria

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: alexander.kirschner{at}meduniwien.ac.at.

	Abstract

Vibrio cholerae nonO1/nonO139 has 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 local history of recreational acitivities in the large Eastern Austrian lake Neusiedler See. Thus, a monitoring program was started to investigate the endemic 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 was the cholera toxin gene or the toxin coregulated pilus gene detected, which are both prerequisite for the ability of the pathogen to cause cholera. In addition, experiments were performed to elucidate the prefered 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 similar growth rates as 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 inhibit V. cholerae growth.