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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, July 2001, p. 2594-2597, Vol. 39, No. 7
Department of Microbiology, The University of
Hong Kong,1 and Department of
Pathology, Princess Margaret Hospital,2 Hong
Kong SAR, China
Received 30 January 2001/Returned for modification 6 March
2001/Accepted 24 April 2001
A PCR that amplifies a recently discovered Vibrio
cholerae RTX (repeat in toxin) toxin gene was developed. Among
166 clinical and environmental isolates of V. cholerae
causing epidemics and sporadic cases of cholera in various parts of the
world, all were found to be toxigenic by both PCR and HEp-2 cell
cytotoxicity assay. Standard strains of the classical biotype
containing a deletion within the gene cluster exhibited negative
results by both assays. This is the first rapid genotyping method for
differentiation of V. cholerae O1 classical biotype
strains from El Tor biotype strains as well as strains of other non-O1
serogroups including serogroup O139. The PCR assay that was developed
also specifically detects RTX toxin genes in V.
cholerae, as clinical isolates of Vibrio
parahaemolyticus, diarrheagenic Escherichia
coli, Aeromonas species, and
Plesiomonas species were all negative by the RTX toxin-specific PCR as well as the HEp-2 cytotoxicity assay. These findings highlight the characteristics of the RTX toxins in V. cholerae. Their role in the pathogenicity of the bacterium
requires further investigation.
0095-1137/01/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/JCM.39.7.2594-2597.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Detection of RTX Toxin Gene in Vibrio
cholerae by PCR
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of
Microbiology, Queen Mary Hospital, The University of Hong Kong,
Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China. Phone: (852) 2855 4892. Fax: (852) 2855 1241. E-mail: wcyam{at}hkucc.hku.hk.
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