Supporting data for "chiA and gbpA genes are not uniformly distributed amongst diverse Vibrio cholerae"

Members of the bacterial genus Vibrio utilize chitin both as a metabolic substrate and a signal to activate natural competence. Vibrio cholerae is a bacterial enteric pathogen, sub-lineages of which can cause pandemic cholera. However, the chitin metabolic pathway in V. cholerae has been dissected using only a limited number of laboratory strains of this species. Here, we survey the complement of key chitin metabolism genes amongst 195 diverse V. cholerae. We show that the gene encoding GbpA, known to be an important colonization and virulence factor in pandemic isolates, is not ubiquitous amongst V. cholerae. We also identify a putatively novel chitinase, and present experimental evidence in support of its functionality. Our data indicate that the chitin metabolic pathway within V. cholerae is more complex than previously thought, and emphasize the importance of considering genes and functions in the context of a species in its entirety, rather than simply relying on traditional reference strains.

弧菌属（Vibrio）细菌可将几丁质同时作为代谢底物与激活自然感受态的信号分子。霍乱弧菌（Vibrio cholerae）是一种肠道致病菌，其部分亚谱系可引发流行性霍乱。然而，此前仅通过该物种的有限数种实验室菌株，对霍乱弧菌的几丁质代谢通路进行了解析。本研究针对195株不同来源的霍乱弧菌，系统调研了其关键几丁质代谢基因的组成情况。研究发现，编码GbpA的基因（该基因在流行性分离株中被证实为重要的定殖与毒力因子）在霍乱弧菌中并非普遍存在。此外，本研究鉴定出一种推定的新型几丁质酶，并提供了支持其功能的实验证据。本研究数据表明，霍乱弧菌的几丁质代谢通路比此前认知更为复杂，同时强调了以物种整体为背景考量基因及其功能的重要性，而非仅依赖传统参考菌株。