Cytolethal Distending Toxin Gene Cluster in Enterohemorrhagic Escherichiacoli O157:H− and O157:H7: Characterization and Evolutionary Considerations

ABSTRACT We identified a cytolethal distending toxin (cdt) gene cluster in 87, 6, and 0% of sorbitol-fermenting (SF) enterohemorrhagic Escherichiacoli (EHEC) O157:H−, EHEC O157:H7, and E. coli O55:H7/H− strains, respectively. The toxin was expressed by the wild-type EHEC O157 strains and by a cdt-containing cosmid from a library of SF EHEC O157:H− strain 493/89. The cdt flanks in strain 493/89 were homologous to bacteriophages P2 and lambda. Our data demonstrate that cdt, encoding a potential virulence factor, is present in the EHEC O157 complex and suggest that cdt may have been acquired by phage transduction.

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