Environmental vibrios represent a source of antagonistic compounds that inhibit pathogenic Vibrio cholerae and Vibrio parahaemolyticus strains

With the overuse of antibiotics, many pathogens including Vibrio cholerae and Vibrio parahaemolyticus have evolved multidrug resistance making treatment more difficult. While understanding the mechanisms that underlie pathogenesis is crucial, knowledge of bacterial interactions of V. cholerae and V. parahaemolyticus could provide insight to their susceptibility outside of the human host. Based on previous work showing competition among environmental strains, we predict that marine-derived bacteria should inhibit Vibrio pathogens and may be a source of unique antibiotic compounds. We tested a collection of 3,456 environmental Vibrio isolates from diverse habitats against a panel of V. cholerae and V. parahaemolyticus, and identified 102 strains that inhibited the growth of these pathogens. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that 40 pathogen-inhibiting strains were unique at the hsp60 gene sequence while 62 of the isolates were identical suggesting clonal groups. Genomic comparisons of ten strains revealed diversity even between clonal isolates and were identified as being closely related to known Vibrio crassostreae, Vibrio splendidus, and Vibrio tasmaniensis strains. Further analysis revealed multiple biosynthetic gene clusters within all sequenced genomes that encoded secondary metabolites with potential antagonistic activity. Thus, environmental vibrios represent a source of compounds that inhibit Vibrio pathogens.