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Category: Environmental Microbiology
Biotechnological Applications, Page 1 of 2
< Previous page | Next page > /docserver/preview/fulltext/10.1128/9781555815714/9781555813659_Chap28-1.gif /docserver/preview/fulltext/10.1128/9781555815714/9781555813659_Chap28-2.gifAbstract:
This chapter provides a summary of the main applications which have been commercialized or which are being developed as biotechnological products or processes. Two oral vaccines are available. First is the WC/rBS vaccine, which consists of whole cells of Vibrio cholerae O1 plus a recombinant subunit of the cholera toxin. This provides good protection. Second, a live attenuated vaccine is available which is a genetically manipulated V. cholerae strain, CVD103-HgR. As well as being useful for the development of cholera vaccines, there are also some interesting applications being looked at which use Vibrio-derived toxins in other ways. The discovery of quorum sensing in species of Vibrio in the 1980s is one of the most important developments in the history of microbiology. The evolution of quorum sensing was a major step which allowed bacteria to secure some of the adaptive advantages of more complex multicelled organisms. Vibrio spp. have been found to produce a variety of extracellular proteases. V. alginolyticus, for example, produces six proteases, including an unusual detergent- resistant alkaline serine exoprotease. However, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the detection of V. cholerae in a variety of homogenized samples has been developed.
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