Virulence genes of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli isolated from food, animals and humans.

The presence of virulence genes, encoding enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC)-hemolysin (EHEC-hlyA), intimin (eae), and Shiga toxins 1 (stx1) and 2 (stx2), in 178 isolates of pathogenic E. coli, was determined using the polymerase chain reaction with primers specific for each virulence gene. The tested organisms were 120 isolates of E. coli O157:H7 from human patients, cattle, sheep and foods, 16 non-O157:H7 EHEC isolates from patients suffering from hemorrhagic colitis or hemolytic uremic syndrome, 15 non-O157:H7 Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) isolates from cattle and foods, 26 isolates of enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC), enteroinvasive E. coli (EIEC) and enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC), and an E. coli K12 strain. Results revealed that all isolates of O157:H7 carried EHEC-hlyA, eae, and one or both stx genes; 15 of the 16 non-O157:H7 EHEC isolates had EHEC-hlyA, but all possessed eae and one or both stx genes; only seven of the 15 non-O157 STEC isolated from cattle and foods contained both EHEC-hlyA and eae genes. The EPEC, EIEC, ETEC, and the E. coli K12 strain did not carry these virulence genes, except eight EPEC isolates were positive for eae. Results suggest that a combination of EHEC-hlyA and eae genes could serve as markers to differentiate EHEC from less pathogenic STEC, and other pathogenic or non-pathogenic E. coli.

[1]  Y. Takeda,et al.  Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli. , 1997, World health statistics quarterly. Rapport trimestriel de statistiques sanitaires mondiales.

[2]  R. Clarke,et al.  Hemolysin phenotypes and genotypes of eaeA-positive and eaeA-negative bovine verotoxigenic Escherichia coli. , 1997, Advances in experimental medicine and biology.

[3]  S. Tzipori,et al.  Role of a 60-megadalton plasmid and Shiga-like toxins in the pathogenesis of infection caused by enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 in gnotobiotic piglets , 1987, Infection and immunity.

[4]  L. Beutin,et al.  Molecular analysis of the plasmid-encoded hemolysin of Escherichia coli O157:H7 strain EDL 933 , 1995, Infection and immunity.

[5]  S. Kresovich,et al.  Cloning and nucleotide sequence of a gene upstream of the eaeA gene of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7. , 1995, FEMS microbiology letters.

[6]  M. McKee,et al.  The role of the eae gene of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli in intimate attachment in vitro and in a porcine model. , 1993, The Journal of clinical investigation.

[7]  J. H. Carr,et al.  Influence of the 60-megadalton plasmid on adherence of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and genetic derivatives , 1990, Infection and immunity.

[8]  L. van Damme,et al.  Virulence factors of verocytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli isolated from raw meats , 1997, Applied and environmental microbiology.

[9]  A. Caprioli,et al.  Hemolytic-Uremic Syndrome and Vero Cytotoxin-Producing Escherichia coli Infection in Italy , 1992 .

[10]  S. Kresovich,et al.  A multiplex PCR for identifying Shiga‐like toxin‐producing Escherichia coli O157 : H7 , 1997, Letters in applied microbiology.

[11]  P. Griffin.  Escherichia coli O157 : H7 and other enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli , 1995 .

[12]  D Alves,et al.  Vero cytotoxigenic Escherichia coli infection in dairy farm families. , 1996, The Journal of infectious diseases.

[13]  T. Cheasty,et al.  Vero cytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli, particularly serogroup O157, associated with human infections in England and Wales: 1992–4 , 1996, Epidemiology and Infection.

[14]  L. Beutin,et al.  Prevalence and some properties of verotoxin (Shiga-like toxin)-producing Escherichia coli in seven different species of healthy domestic animals , 1993, Journal of clinical microbiology.

[15]  T. Barrett,et al.  Virulence factors in Shiga-like toxin-producing Escherichia coli isolated from humans and cattle. , 1992, The Journal of infectious diseases.

[16]  A. Siitonen,et al.  Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli serotype OX3:H21 as a cause of hemolytic-uremic syndrome. , 1997, Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

[17]  M. Levine,et al.  A plasmid of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 is required for expression of a new fimbrial antigen and for adhesion to epithelial cells , 1987, Infection and immunity.

[18]  J. Blanco,et al.  Prevalence and characteristics of Escherichia coil serotype O157:H7 and other verotoxin-producing E. coli in healthy cattle , 1996, Epidemiology and Infection.

[19]  H. Lior,et al.  Prevalence of the eaeA gene in verotoxigenic Escherichia coli strains from dairy cattle in Southwest Ontario , 1996, Epidemiology and Infection.

[20]  L. Beutin,et al.  Virulence markers of Shiga-like toxin-producing Escherichia coli strains originating from healthy domestic animals of different species , 1995, Journal of clinical microbiology.

[21]  J Ruiz,et al.  Isolation of verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli O-rough:K1:H7 from two patients with traveler's diarrhea , 1997, Journal of clinical microbiology.

[22]  H. Cavé,et al.  Identification of a clone of Escherichia coli O103:H2 as a potential agent of hemolytic-uremic syndrome in France , 1993, Journal of clinical microbiology.

[23]  Shaohua Zhao,et al.  Escherichia coli O157:H7 , 1997 .

[24]  M. Levine,et al.  A DNA probe to identify enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli of O157:H7 and other serotypes that cause hemorrhagic colitis and hemolytic uremic syndrome. , 1987, The Journal of infectious diseases.