Quantifying Intestinal Bacterial Load in Zebrafish Infected with Vibrio cholerae

Key Points

• This research aims to quantify the load of Vibrio cholerae bacteria in the intestines of zebrafish to assess infection severity.
• Zebrafish infected with an antibiotic-resistant strain of Vibrio cholerae were euthanized and dissected.
• The intestinal tract was isolated and homogenized using glass beads.
• Homogenate was processed and plated onto selective medium to facilitate bacterial counting.
• Bacterial colonies expressing β-galactosidase were counted to estimate the intestinal bacterial burden.
• The protocol allowed for precise quantification of bacterial load in infected zebrafish.