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The toxigenic classical and El Tor biotype Vibrio cholerae serogroup O1 strains are generated by lysogenization of host-type-specific cholera toxin phages (CTX phages). Experimental evidence of the replication and transmission of an El Tor biotype-specific CTX phage, CTX-1, has explained the evolution of V. cholerae El Tor biotype strains. The generation of classical biotype strains has not been demonstrated in the laboratory, and the classical biotype-specific CTX phage, CTX-cla, is considered to be defective with regard to replication. However, the identification of atypical El Tor strains that contain CTX-cla-like phage, CTX-2, indicates that CTX-cla and CTX-2 replicate and can be transmitted to V. cholerae strains. The replication of CTX-cla and CTX-2 phages and the transduction of El Tor biotype strains by various CTX phages under laboratory conditions are demonstrated in this report. We have established a plasmid-based CTX phage replication system that supports the replication of CTX-1, CTX-cla, CTX-2, and CTX-O139. The replication of CTX-2 from the tandem repeat of lysogenic CTX-2 in Wave 2 El Tor strains is also presented. El Tor biotype strains can be transduced by CTX phages in vitro by introducing a point mutation in toxT, the transcriptional activator of the tcp (toxin coregulated pilus) gene cluster and the cholera toxin gene. This mutation also increases the expression of cholera toxin in El Tor strains in a sample single-phase culture. Our results thus constitute experimental evidence of the genetic mechanism of the evolution of V. cholerae.

Vibrio cholerae O1 serogroup Wave 3 El Tor strains are presently prevalent worldwide. The Wave 3 El Tor strains contain a TLC:RS1:CTX array on chromosome 1, and no element is integrated on chromosome 2. A multiplex PCR optimized to identify the TLC:RS1:CTX array of Wave 3 strains has been developed in this study. By using eight primers, the multiplex PCR can identify the characteristic CTX and RS1 array of Wave 3 strains from various arrays of strains belonging to other Waves. The four amplified DNA fragments of Wave 3 strains have been cloned in a vector, which could be used as a positive control for the multiplex PCR. This multiplex PCR and the positive control set could be useful tools for rapid recognition of Wave 3 El Tor strains.

Vibrio cholerae O1, the causative agent of the disease cholera, has two biotypes: namely classical and El Tor. The disease is the principal manifestation of a potent toxin known as cholera toxin, produced by the bacteria. Generation of a toxin producing V. cholerae strain arises by infection of a toxin gene-carrying phage (CTX phage) that becomes integrated into its genome. Experimental evidence has shown the replication and transmission of the type-specific phage in the El Tor strains, but this has not been experimentally demonstrated in the classical strains and the exact mechanism was not known. This study provides laboratory evidence that illustrates the genesis of toxigenic classical biotype strains.

This study focused on the variations in the non-coding sequences between ctxB and rstR of various CTX phages. The non-coding sequences of CTX-1 and CTX-cla are phage type-specific. The length of the non-coding region of CTX-1 and CTX-cla is 601 and 730 nucleotides, respectively. The non-coding sequence of CTX phage could be divided into three regions. There is a phage type-specific Variable region between two homologous Common regions (Common regions 1 and 2). The non-coding sequence of RS1 element is similar to CTX-1 except that Common region 1 is replaced by a short RS1-specific sequence. The non-coding sequences of CTX-2 and CTX-cla are homologous, indicating the non-coding sequence of CTX-2 is derived from CTX-cla. The non-coding region of CTX-O139 is similar to CTX-cla and CTX-2; however, it contains an extra phage type-specific sequence between Common region 2 and rstR. The variations in the non-coding sequences of CTX phages might be associated with the difference in the replication efficiency and the directionality in the integration into the V. cholerae chromosome.