Zebrafish as a Natural Host Model for Vibrio cholerae Colonization and Transmission

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe human diarrheal disease cholera is caused by the aquatic bacteriumVibrio cholerae.V. choleraein the environment is associated with several varieties of aquatic life, including insect egg masses, shellfish, and vertebrate fish. Here we describe a novel animal model forV. cholerae, the zebrafish. PandemicV. choleraestrains specifically colonize the zebrafish intestinal tract after exposure in water with no manipulation of the animal required. Colonization occurs in close contact with the intestinal epithelium and mimics colonization observed in mammals. Zebrafish that are colonized byV. choleraetransmit the bacteria to naive fish, which then become colonized. Striking differences in colonization betweenV. choleraeclassical and El Tor biotypes were apparent. The zebrafish natural habitat in Asia heavily overlaps areas where cholera is endemic, suggesting that zebrafish andV. choleraeevolved in close contact with each other. Thus, the zebrafish provides a natural host model for the study ofV. choleraecolonization, transmission, and environmental survival.