Toxicity Enhancement of Clostridium Argentinense by non O1, non O139 Vibrio Cholerae in Co-culture

Author(s): Centorbi Hugo José, Aliendro Olga Elida, Laciar Analía Liliana

The growth and botulinic toxin production of Clostridium argentinense G 89 HT in co-culture with non O1, non O139 Vibrio cholerae were studied using three culture systems, operated under different aeration conditions. Growth in homogeneous co-culture with aerobic and anaerobic stage presented a dual-phase progression and 2000 LD50 of botulinum toxin was obtained. This value represented an increase of 20 times compared with the other culture systems studied and high levels of protease activity were achieved. The remarkable increase on the toxicity of C. argentinense G 89 HT was attributed to activation of the toxin by non O1, non O139 Vibrio cholerae proteases. The heterogeneous co-culture obtained with a dialysis membrane physically separating both bacteria, thereby eliminating the protease activity, produced low levels of activity toxigenic.

Clostridium argentinense, Non O1, non O139 Vibrio cholerae, Co-culture, Protease activity, Toxin activation

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