Global microbial ecology of Vibrio cholerae

The disease cholera can no longer be considered a simple equation of bacteria and human host, but represents a complex network that includes global weather patterns, aquatic reservoirs, phages, zooplankton, collective behavior of surface-attached cells, an adaptable genome, and the deep sea inter alia. This interesting characterization emerges from a view of biological systems termed biocomplexity (Colwell, 2002a, b). The holistic approach to understanding cholera integrates contributions from experts in many fields, with multiple points of view, in models for prediction, prevention, and treatment of the disease that Vibrio cholerae causes. The spiral form shown in Figure 12.1 symbolizes the nonlinear manner in which the many parts of such a model interact. It also shows that these interactions often occur across many different scales.