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Home Journal Highlights V. cholerae's Amazing Adaptability: Genes and Regulatory Networks Identified
V. cholerae's Amazing Adaptability: Genes and Regulatory Networks Identified Print E-mail

 

shikyildizIn both the aquatic environment and the human digestive tract, Vibrio cholerae must cope with a range of salinities and osmolarities. Now Nicholas J. Shikuma and Fitnat H. Yildiz of the University of California, Santa Cruz, have identified the genes and regulatory networks required for this pathogen's adaptation to changes in these conditions.  "We determined that biofilm formation is regulated by osmolarity, and we identified a regulator, which we named OscR (for osmotically controlled regulator) that represses biofilm formation only in low salinities," says Yildiz. "V. cholerae's ability to form biofilms is critical for its environmental survival and distribution. Our findings suggest that forming biofilms may not benefit this pathogen under low salinity and osmolarity, such as in fresh water environments." Yildiz notes that V. cholerae's exceptional ability to cause epidemics results from its survival in water, and an understanding of its response to fluctuating physicochemical parameters "is vital to understanding how the pathogen is transmitted. We plan to evaluate the importance of OscR in transmission of V. cholerae using different model systems."  

(N. J. Shikuma and F. H. Yildiz. 2009. Identification and characterization of OscR, a transcriptional regulatory involved in osmolarity adaptation in Vibrio cholerae. J. Bacteriol. 191:4082-4096.)