Survival and viability of Vibrio vulnificus in seawater monitored by flow cytometry

Survival and viability of Vibrio vulnificus in seawater incubated at 4°C was analysed by flow cytometry and with a fluorescent dye that stained only living cells. Although evidence was obtained that a proportion of the cells became non‐culturable, resuscitation experiments suggested that this was a transient state leading to cell death and that raising the incubation temperature from 4° to 20°C allowed numbers to increase by growth and division rather than by conversion of dormant cells to active culturable forms.