We describe here the cloning, nucleotide sequence, and functional expression of the clp gene of Vibrio cholerae (Vc) encoding the cyclic AMP receptor protein (CRP). The Ve crp gene shows 81% identity with the crp gene from Escherichia coli (Ec) and its deduced amino acid sequence shows 95% identity with the Ec protein. When expressed from inducible promoters, the cloned Ve gene produced an approximately 20-kDa protein which complemented the carbohydrate-negative and growth-defective phenotypes of both Ec and Ve crp mutants. In the Vc clp mutant, the cloned crp gene also restored the normal repression of ToxR-regulated virulence genes which occurs under certain environmental conditions. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.