Étude de la capacité de toxicogenèse de la souche d'Escherichia coli H10407 introduite en eau de mer synthétique

Survival of Escherichia coli H10407 strain, introduced into artificial seawater during exponential and stationary growth phases, was studied for seven days. Pathogenicity of stressed bacteria in these conditions was estimated by detection of the thermolabile toxin LT (excreted in situ in artificial seawater) and the elt-coding gene (always detected). Emergence of viable but non-culturable bacteria appeared as an important stage in the pathogenic evolution of this strain; resuscitation experiments were attempted to confirm the expression of the elt-gene of virulence. This resuscitation was only possible during the first two or three days after stress when the bacteria are still virulent. More than three days after the stress, the bacteria were not able to recover their ability to grow again in rich medium, and consequently their virulence could not be proven.