Transcriptional shifts in Vibrio cholerae due to zooplankton association

The aquatic bacterium Vibrio cholerae is the causative agent of the severe diarrheal disease, Cholera and is endemic in parts of the developing world. Outside of the human host, Vibrio cholerae exists in marine and estuarine environments, either as free-living bacteria or in association with zooplanktons. Our study aims to explore the association of Vibrio cholerae with one such commonly found crustacean zooplankton, Artemia sp. The goal of the experiment is to identify how association with such crustaceans leads to differential gene expression in Vibrio cholerae, with a view to further explore if such transcriptional shifts have an outsized impact in other phases of the Vibrio cholerae life cycle.