[Variability of Vibrio cholerae as affected by subbacteriostatic concentrations of antibiotics]

The effect of subbacteriostatic concentrations of some antibiotics on variation of the features characterizing the serovar and biovar of the cholera germ was studied on 10 strains of V. cholerae E1 Tor of the Inaba serovar having the typical properties. It was shown that even a single exposure to the subbacteriostatic concentrations of some antibiotics resulted in formations of clones differing from the parental strains by a number of significant features, such as the antigenic structure, phage lysability and enterotoxicity. The new features were inherited in a number of generations on multiplication in culture media and in sensitive animal hosts.