Molecular characterization of serogrouping and virulence genes of Malaysian Vibrio cholerae isolated from different sources
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Updated: Jun 16, 2026

Laboratory Techniques Used to Maintain and Differentiate Biotypes of Vibrio cholerae Clinical and Environmental Isolates
Published on: May 30, 2017
Cindy Shuan Ju Teh1, Kwai Lin Thong, Soo Tein Ngoi
1Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Abstract:
A pair of primers targeting the hlyA gene for Vibrio cholerae which could distinguish the classical from El Tor biotypes was designed and combined with other specific primers for ompW, rfb complex, and virulence genes such as ctxA, toxR, and tcpI in a multiplex PCR (m-PCR) assay. This m-PCR correctly identified 39 V. cholerae from clinical, water and seafood samples. The efficiency of this multiplex PCR (m-PCR) was compared with conventional biochemical and serogrouping methods. One O139 and 25 O1 V. cholerae strains including 10 environmental strains harbored all virulence-associated genes except 1 clinical strain which only had toxR and hlyA genes. Thirteen environmental strains were classified as non-O1/non-O139 and had the toxR and hlyA genes only. The detection limit of m-PCR was 7 x 10(4) cfu/ml. The m-PCR test was reliable and rapid and reduced the identification time to 4 h.
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