AUTHOR=Pukatzki Stefan , Provenzano Daniele 

TITLE=Vibrio cholerae as a predator: lessons from evolutionary principles

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=4

YEAR=2013

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2013.00384

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2013.00384

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>Diarrheal diseases are the second-most common cause of death among children under the age of five worldwide. Cholera alone, caused by the marine bacterium <italic>Vibrio cholerae</italic>, is responsible for several million cases and over 120,000 deaths annually. When contaminated water is ingested, <italic>V. cholerae</italic> passes through the gastric acid barrier, penetrates the mucin layer of the small intestine, and adheres to the underlying epithelial lining. <italic>V. cholerae</italic> multiplies rapidly, secretes cholera toxin, and exits the human host in vast numbers during diarrheal purges. How <italic>V. cholerae</italic> rapidly reaches such high numbers during each purge is not clearly understood. We propose that <italic>V. cholerae</italic> employs its bactericidal type VI secretion system to engage in intraspecies and intraguild predation for nutrient acquisition to support rapid growth and multiplication.</p>