A 53 kDa protein of Vibrio cholerae classical strain 0395 involved in intestinal colonization

Mutants of Vibrio cholerae 01 strain 0395 (classical) mutated in genes encoding secretory or cell surface proteins were induced by TnphoA mutagenesis and were selected as blue colonies on L-agar plates containing 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl phosphate. Southern analysis of the total DNA from blue colonies showed that all mutants had TnphoA insertion in genomic DNA. These mutants were analysed for adherence, colonization and protein profile. Adherence to freshly isolated rabbit intestinal discs was affected in some mutants. The less adhesive mutants were examined for colonization of the intestine of infant mice. One mutant, designated T-87, was extremely poor at colonization and less diarrhaegenic than the parent strain. Analysis of T-87 by SDS-PAGE revealed that two proteins of 53 and 38 kDa were lacking. The 38 kDa protein was identified as OmpU. The 53 kDa protein was extracellular and cells treated with anti-53-kDa antibodies could not colonize the gut of infant mice. The expression of the 53 and 38 kDa proteins in T-87 was dependent of the growth medium. The data suggest that T-87 is mutated in a regulatory gene which regulates the expression of proteins involved in intestinal colonization.