Bacterium
Vibrio cholerae
Comma-shaped oxidase-positive rod
VIB-ree-oh KOL-er-eye
High-yield clue
Comma-shaped rod + oxidase positivity + toxin-mediated watery diarrhea vocabulary.
Overview
A curved Gram-negative rod used to teach cholera toxin vocabulary, aquatic exposure framing, and oxidase-positive curved-rod contrast.
Classification
- Gram-negative
- Curved rod
- Oxidase positive
Lab & identification clues
- Curved rod morphology
- Oxidase positive
- Toxin mechanism vocabulary
Associations
- Waterborne outbreak vocabulary
- Cholera toxin concept
- Public-health response framing
Commonly confused with
- Campylobacter jejuni
- Helicobacter pylori
Your notes
Original student-study summary. Sources checked: OpenStax Microbiology 2e, NCBI Bookshelf Medical Microbiology, and CDC topic pages where applicable; reviewed 2026-06. Educational only; no diagnosis, treatment, dosing, or specimen-handling guidance.