Distribution of Zonula occludens toxin (zot) gene among clinical isolates of Vibrio cholerae O1 from Bangladesh and Africa.

Seventy-two clinical isolates of Vibrio cholerae O1 from Bangladesh, and 12 and 9 isolates respectively from Tanzania and Nigeria were screened for sequences homologous to zonula occludens toxin (zot) and cholera toxin (ctx) genes. As observed previously, all isolates in the present study also possessed sequences for both toxins which suggested that zot does not occur independent of ctx. It appears that along with the virulence genes located in the "virulence cassette" region of the bacterial chromosome, zot may play a role in the pathogenesis of cholera.