Effect of chitin on Vibrio cholerae

Daniel Quarcoofome Cofie, The University of Texas School of Public Health

Abstract

Chitin, N-acetylglucosamine and crude shrimp shell were found to support growth and survival of non-01 and 01 Vibrio cholerae species in aquatic microcosms. Growth was found to be concentration-dependent when the amount of chitin used was within the range of 0.5 g/L to 5 g/L. Toxigenic strains of V. cholerae retained their ability to produce cholera toxin in bay water with chitin as the sole source of nutrient. The amount of chitin solubilized in bay water was shown to depend on salinity but not pH. The inability of V. cholerae to grow in dilute (10%) sewage is reported, and its bearing on the adequacy of the currently used fecal coliform count as a measure of shellfish and shellfish harvesting water quality is discussed.

Subject Area

Public health|Microbiology

Recommended Citation

Cofie, Daniel Quarcoofome, "Effect of chitin on Vibrio cholerae" (1988). Texas Medical Center Dissertations (via ProQuest). AAI9020178.
https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/dissertations/AAI9020178

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