V.cholerae

Vibrio cholerae is a Gram-negative bacterium known for it's ability to colonize the human intestinal tract and cause cholera, a severe diarrheal disease. This bacterium has been responsible for 7 global pandemics, resulting in significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. It is estimated that cholera is responsible for approximately 100,000 deaths annually. V.cholerae is spread through ingestion of contaminated water or food. Upon reaching the intestine, the bacterium produces cholera toxin, which leads to profuse watery diarrhea- a hallmark symptom of cholera. A lot of progress has been made in phenotypically characterizing V.cholerae, however, there remains a critical need to understand the pathogen at a molecular level. Molecular insights into V.cholerae will be essential for developing targeted interventions , including vaccines and antimicrobial therapies. Here we aim to Genomically characterize V.cholerae and it's phylogenomics over time. To achieve our primary objective, we want to do the following on V.cholerae isolates:

• For Genomic characterizations

  • Strain typing

  • Serotyping

  • Resistome and pathogenicity factors

  • CTX phage characterization (Extraction of prophage genome and genomic characterization of AMR and virulence factors)

    • Characterization of Mobile Genetic Elements in Cholera

• Phylogenomics

  • Create phylogenetic trees to understand evolutionary history and infer the current to future changes of V. cholerae over time

From our study, these are our expected outcomes:

• Enhanced understanding of V. cholerae pathogenesis and adaptation.

• Insights into cholera epidemiology for guiding public health startegies.

To see more of our work, use this link to visit our wiki https://github.com/LatifahBenta/V.cholerae/wiki