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Background:
Cholera (Vibriop cholerae) is a bacterium that causes acute intestinal infection resulting in profuse watery diarrhea, vomiting, circulatory collapse, shock, and in some instances, death. While it is rare in industrialized nations with advanced water and sanitation systems, it remains a major threat in developing nations; there are an estimated 3-5 million cases resulting in over 100,000 deaths annually. [Cite http://www.cdc.gov/cholera/general/ appropriately]

Abstract:
West Point’s 2011 iGEM team is developing a simple test kit to determine the presence of cholera contamination in drinking water. Inserting a plasmid coding for Beta-galactosidase induced by an arabinose promoter into E. Coli creates a biological specimen that will produce Beta-galactosidase (LacZ) in the presence of arabinose. When mixed, Vibrio cholera will lyse the E. Coli, releasing the B-gal into the solution. X-gal (BCIG) added to the solution is cleaved by the B-gal yielding galactose and 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-hydroxyindole, which is oxidized into an insoluble blue product. In the absence of cholera, the B-gal remains in the cell and the solution remains clear.