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Appl. Environ. Microbiol. doi:10.1128/AEM.02736-06
Copyright (c) 2007, American Society for Microbiology and/or the Listed Authors/Institutions. All Rights Reserved.

Genomic and Phenotypic Diversity of Coastal Vibrio cholerae are Linked to Environmental Factors

Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering; Stanford University; Stanford, California 94305; Division of Infectious Diseases & Geographic Medicine, Department of Medicine; Stanford University School of Medicine; Stanford University; Stanford, California 94305

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: dkeymer{at}stanford.edu.

	Abstract

Studies of Vibrio cholerae diversity have primarily focused on pathogenic isolates of the O1 and O139 serotypes. However, autochthonous environmental isolates of this species routinely display more extensive genetic diversity than the primarily clonal pathogenic strains. In this study, genomic and metabolic profiles of 41 non-O1/O139 environmental isolates from central California coastal waters and 4 clinical strains are used to characterize the core genome and metabolome of V. cholerae. Comparative genome hybridization using microarrays constructed from the fully sequenced V. cholerae O1 El Tor N16961 genome identify 2787 core genes that approximate the projected species core genome within 1.6 percent. Core genes are almost universally present in strains with widely different niches, suggesting that these genes are essential for persistence in diverse aquatic environments. In contrast, the dispensable genes and phenotypic traits identified in this study should provide increased fitness for certain niche environments. Environmental parameters, measured in situ during sample collection, are correlated to the presence of specific dispensable genes and metabolic capabilities, including utilization of mannose, sialic acid, citrate, and chitosan oligosaccharides. These results identify gene content and metabolic pathways that are likely selected for in certain coastal environments and may influence V. cholerae population structure in aquatic environments.