Non-cultivable, pathogenic O1 and non-O1 Vibrio cholerae and Aeromonas spp. were resuscitated from aquatic arthropods and plant homogenate respectively, by rabbit ileal loop (RIL) assay. These organisms adhered to the aquatic arthropod Gerris spinolae and various species of phytoplankton in the River Ganga, but failed to grow after direct inoculation on artificial media except for only 10 homogenates of the arthropod. The number of non-O1 V. cholerae and Aeromonas recovered on direct inoculation of G. spinolae homogenates were in the order of 10(5)-10(6) whereas those of the Ganga water were 10(2)-10(3) ml-1. A total of 119 strains of O1 and non-O1 V. cholerae and Aeromonas spp. (69 isolates from G. spinolae and 50 from aquatic plants) were recovered from the loop contents. The results indicate that production of the enzyme chitinase by O1 and non-O1 V. cholerae and Aeromonas spp. might facilitate their adsorption and multiplication on different species of zoo- and phyto-plankton. Most of the isolates were enterotoxic, haemolytic and resistant to different antibiotics. This study suggests that species of zoo- and phyto-planktons, until now not reported to be associated with O1 and non-O1 V. cholerae, may act as reservoirs of these organisms as well as different species of Aeromonas in a fresh-water riverine ecosystem.