Proteome comparison of Vibrio cholerae cultured in aerobic and anaerobic conditions

The pathogen Vibrio cholerae causes severe diarrheal disease in humans. This environmental inhabitant has two distinct life cycles, in the environment and in the human small intestine, in which it differs in its multiplication behavior and virulence expression. Anaerobiosis, limitation of some nutrient elements, and excess burden from host metabolism reactants are the major stresses for V. cholerae living in intestine, in comparison to conditions in the environment and laboratory medium. For an insight into the response of V. cholerae to different microenvironments, we cultured the bacteria in aerobic and anaerobic conditions, and compared the whole cell proteome by two-dimensional electrophoresis. Among the protein spots identified, some protein species involved in aerobic respiration and the nutrient carbohydrate transporters were found to be more abundant in aerobic conditions, and some enzymes for anaerobic respiration and some stress response proteins were found more abundant in anaerobic culture. One spot corresponding to flagellin B subunit was decreased in anaerobic conditions, which suggests correlation with the meticulous regulation of bacterial motility during infection in the host intestine. This proteome analysis is the starting point for in-depth understanding of V. cholerae behavior in different environments.