Potentially Pathogenic: The Classification and Examination of Environmental Vibrio Isolates Sampled from Water Sources Along the Gulf Coast and the Bahamas.

Author

Dynte Mechile Moore, Bard CollegeFollow

Date of Submission

Spring 2017

Academic Programs and Concentrations

Biology

Project Advisor 1

Brooke Jude

Abstract/Artist's Statement

Vibrio Cholerae is a comma-shaped, Gram-Negative bacterium. The bacterium is native to aquatic sources, but can be found in several environments. During the cholera pandemic in 1884, John Snow connected the cholera outbreak to a local water source. However, he lacked the current microbial methods that would be able to test the water and isolate the bacterium, thus he could not gather evidence to support his hypothesis. Instead he employed epidemiological methods to verify the source of the outbreak. Today, inoculating a water sample onto selective media can return results within 18h- 24h. Combining modern-day advancements in microbial techniques and John Snow’s methodologies, environmental strains of Vibrio spp. were isolated from samples collected from water sources along the Gulf Coast and The Bahamas, were examined in order to evaluate the bacterium’s presence, both pathogenic and nonpathogenic, classification, virulent factors, and its resistance within coastal waters. Samples were inoculated onto Thiosulfate-citrate-bile salts-sucrose (TCBS) agar to examine the presence of V. cholerae. Samples collected from Siesta Key, FL, Tampa, FL, and Nassau, Bahamas exhibited V. cholerae cultures. Water samples were inoculated onto Taurocholate- Tellurite-Gelatin Agar (TTGA) media to isolate strains; strains were then examined for characteristics and the occurrence of virulence factors and antimicrobial resistance. Gram stains of each isolate were preformed to confirm V. cholerae species. When cultured under Toxin-Coregulated Pilus (TCP) expressing conditions strains from Nassau exhibited auto-agglutination, however Tampa-isolated strains did not auto-agglutinate. Resistance to Antibiotics was examined using Lysogeny Broth (LB) Agar media supplemented with Polymyxin B. Isolated strains from both Tampa and Nassau exhibited growth on LB media modified using Polymyxin B. O395 (O1 classical), C6706 (El tor), MQ1795 (El tor), and BAA-2163 (El tor) were assayed alongside environmental isolates for assessment.

Open Access Agreement

On-Campus only

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Moore, Dynte Mechile, "Potentially Pathogenic: The Classification and Examination of Environmental Vibrio Isolates Sampled from Water Sources Along the Gulf Coast and the Bahamas." (2017). Senior Projects Spring 2017. 105.
https://digitalcommons.bard.edu/senproj_s2017/105