THE VIABLE BUT NON-CULTURABLE STATE IN THE HUMAN PATHOGEN VIBRIO-VULNIFICUS

Vibrio vulnificus is a serious human pathogen, accounting for 95% of a ll seafood-related deaths in the United States. During the winter mont hs, when coastal water temperatures drop below 10 degrees C, investiga tors have repeatedly reported their inability to isolate this estuarin e bacterium from the environment. We now realize that this apparent 'd ie-off' is actually due to entry of the cells into a 'viable but non-c ulturable' state, a survival response to the low temperature stress. C ells in this state appear dormant, and cannot be cultured in or on rou tine bacteriological media, but are capable of returning to the active ly metabolizing state when the environmental stress is removed. This r eview describes this non-culturable state in V. vulnificus, and its ro le in the ecology, physiology, and epidemiology of this pathogen.