Isolation and characterization of rugose form of Vibrio cholerae O139 strain MO10

An extracellular exopolysaccharide (slime) is produced by Vibrio cholerae O 139 MO10 in response to nutrient starvation. The presence of this slime lay er on the cell surface and its subsequent release have been shown to be ass ociated with biofilm formation and the change from a normal smooth colony m orphology to a rugose one, An immunoelectron microscopic examination demons trated that there is an epitope common to the exopolysaccharide antigen of V. cholerae O1 and that of O139 MO10.