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McDougall F, Gordon D, Robins-Browne R, Bennett-Wood V, Boardman WSJ, Graham PL, Power M. Characterisation of typical enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (tEPEC) lineages and novel bfpA variants detected in Australian fruit bats (Pteropus poliocephalus). THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 902:166336. [PMID: 37591385 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2023] [Revised: 08/09/2023] [Accepted: 08/14/2023] [Indexed: 08/19/2023]
Abstract
Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) is an important cause of diarrhoeal disease in human infants. EPEC strains are defined by the presence of specific virulence factors including intimin (encoded by the eae gene) and bundle forming pili (Bfp). Bfp is encoded by the bfp operon and includes the bfpA gene for the major pilus subunit. By definition, Bfp are only present in typical EPEC (tEPEC), for which, humans are considered to be the only known natural host. This study detected tEPEC in faecal samples from a wild Australian fruit bat species, the grey-headed flying-fox (Pteropus poliocephalus). Whole genome sequencing of 61 E. coli isolates from flying-foxes revealed that 21.3 % (95%CI: 13 %-33 %) were tEPEC. Phylogenetic analyses showed flying-fox tEPEC shared evolutionary lineages with human EPEC, but were predominantly novel sequence types (9 of 13) and typically harboured novel bfpA variants (11 of 13). HEp-2 cell adhesion assays showed adherence to human-derived epithelial cells by all 13 flying-fox tEPEC, indicating that they all carried functional Bfp. Using an EPEC-specific duplex PCR, it was determined that tEPEC comprised 17.4 % (95%CI: 13 %-22 %) of 270 flying-fox E. coli isolates. Furthermore, a tEPEC-specific multiplex PCR detected the eae and bfpA virulence genes in 18.0 % (95%CI: 8.0 %-33.7 %) of 506 flying-fox faecal DNA samples, with occurrences ranging from 1.3 % to 87.0 % across five geographic areas sampled over a four-year period. The identification of six novel tEPEC sequence types and five novel bfpA variants suggests flying-foxes carry bat-specific tEPEC lineages. However, their close relationship with human EPEC and functional Bfp, indicates that flying-fox tEPEC have zoonotic potential and that dissemination of flying-fox tEPEC into urban environments may pose a public health risk. The consistent detection of tEPEC in flying-foxes over extensive geographical and temporal scales indicates that both wild grey-headed flying-foxes and humans should be regarded as natural tEPEC hosts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fiona McDougall
- School of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Macquarie University, NSW 2109, Australia.
| | - David Gordon
- Research School of Biology, Australian National University, ACT 2601, Australia.
| | - Roy Robins-Browne
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, The University of Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia; Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, VIC 3052, Australia.
| | - Vicki Bennett-Wood
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, The University of Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia; Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, VIC 3052, Australia.
| | - Wayne S J Boardman
- School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, University of Adelaide, SA 5371, Australia.
| | - Petra L Graham
- School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Macquarie University, NSW 2109, Australia.
| | - Michelle Power
- School of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Macquarie University, NSW 2109, Australia.
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Leszczyńska K, Święcicka I, Daniluk T, Lebensztejn D, Chmielewska-Deptuła S, Leszczyńska D, Gawor J, Kliber M. Escherichia albertii as a Potential Enteropathogen in the Light of Epidemiological and Genomic Studies. Genes (Basel) 2023; 14:1384. [PMID: 37510288 PMCID: PMC10379040 DOI: 10.3390/genes14071384] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2023] [Revised: 06/09/2023] [Accepted: 06/23/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Escherichia albertii is a new enteropathogen of humans and animals. The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence and pathogenicity of E. albertii strains isolated in northeastern Poland using epidemiological and genomic studies. In 2015-2018, a total of 1154 fecal samples from children and adults, 497 bird droppings, 212 food samples, 92 water samples, and 500 lactose-negative E. coli strains were tested. A total of 42 E. albertii strains were isolated. The PCR method was suitable for their rapid identification. In total, 33.3% of E. albertii isolates were resistant to one antibiotic, and 16.7% to two. Isolates were sensitive to cefepime, imipenem, levofloxacin, gentamicin, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, and did not produce ESBL β-lactamases. High genetic variability of E. albertii has been demonstrated. In the PFGE method, 90.5% of the strains had distinct pulsotypes. In MLST typing, 85.7% of strains were assigned distinct sequence types (STs), of which 64% were novel ST types. Cytolethal distending toxin (CDT) and Paa toxin genes were found in 100% of E. albertii isolates. Genes encoding toxins, IbeA, CdtB type 2, Tsh and Shiga (Stx2f), were found in 26.2%, 9.7%, 1.7%, and 0.4% of E. albertii isolates, respectively. The chromosome size of the tested strains ranged from 4,573,338 to 5,141,010 bp (average 4,784,003 bp), and at least one plasmid was present in all strains. The study contributes to a more accurate assessment of the genetic diversity of E. albertii and the potential threat it poses to public health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katarzyna Leszczyńska
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Nanobiomedical Enginnering, Medical University of Bialystok, ul. Mickiewicza 2C, 15-222 Bialystok, Poland
| | - Izabela Święcicka
- Department of Microbiology and Biotechnology, University of Bialystok, ul. Ciołkowskiego 1J, 15-245 Białystok, Poland
| | - Tamara Daniluk
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Nanobiomedical Enginnering, Medical University of Bialystok, ul. Mickiewicza 2C, 15-222 Bialystok, Poland
| | - Dariusz Lebensztejn
- Department of Pediatrics, Gastroenterology, Hepatology, Nutrition, Allergology and Pulmonology, Medical University of Bialystok, ul. Waszyngtona 17, 15-274 Bialystok, Poland
| | - Sylwia Chmielewska-Deptuła
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Nanobiomedical Enginnering, Medical University of Bialystok, ul. Mickiewicza 2C, 15-222 Bialystok, Poland
| | - Dorota Leszczyńska
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Nanobiomedical Enginnering, Medical University of Bialystok, ul. Mickiewicza 2C, 15-222 Bialystok, Poland
| | - Jan Gawor
- DNA Sequecing and Synthesis Facility, Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, ul. Pawińskiego 5A, 02-106 Warszawa, Poland
| | - Małgorzata Kliber
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Nanobiomedical Enginnering, Medical University of Bialystok, ul. Mickiewicza 2C, 15-222 Bialystok, Poland
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3
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Alharbi MG, Al-Hindi RR, Esmael A, Alotibi IA, Azhari SA, Alseghayer MS, Teklemariam AD. The "Big Six": Hidden Emerging Foodborne Bacterial Pathogens. Trop Med Infect Dis 2022; 7:356. [PMID: 36355898 PMCID: PMC9693546 DOI: 10.3390/tropicalmed7110356] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2022] [Revised: 10/27/2022] [Accepted: 10/31/2022] [Indexed: 04/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) are emerging serogroups that often result in diseases ranging from diarrhea to severe hemorrhagic colitis in humans. The most common non-O157 STEC are O26, O45, O103, O111, O121, and O145. These serogroups are known by the name "big six" because they cause severe illness and death in humans and the United States Department of Agriculture declared these serogroups as food contaminants. The lack of fast and efficient diagnostic methods exacerbates the public impact of the disease caused by these serogroups. Numerous outbreaks have been reported globally and most of these outbreaks were caused by ingestion of contaminated food or water as well as direct contact with reservoirs. Livestock harbor a variety of non-O157 STEC serovars that can contaminate meat and dairy products, or water sources when used for irrigation. Hence, effective control and prevention approaches are required to safeguard the public from infections. This review addresses the disease characteristics, reservoirs, the source of infections, the transmission of the disease, and major outbreaks associated with the six serogroups ("big six") of non-O157 STEC encountered all over the globe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mona G. Alharbi
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia
| | - Rashad R. Al-Hindi
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ahmed Esmael
- Nebraska Center for Virology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68583, USA
- Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Benha University, Benha 13518, Egypt
| | - Ibrahim A. Alotibi
- Health Information Technology Department, Applied College, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia
| | - Sheren A. Azhari
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mazen S. Alseghayer
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia
- Monitoring and Risk Assessment Department, Saudi Food and Drug Authority, Riyadh 13513, Saudi Arabia
| | - Addisu D. Teklemariam
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia
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4
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Sim EM, Kim R, Gall M, Arnott A, Howard P, Valcanis M, Howden BP, Sintchenko V. Added Value of Genomic Surveillance of Virulence Factors in Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli in New South Wales, Australia. Front Microbiol 2022; 12:713724. [PMID: 35002991 PMCID: PMC8733641 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.713724] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2021] [Accepted: 11/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The disease caused by Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) remains a significant public health challenge globally, but the incidence of human STEC infections in Australia remains relatively low. This study examined the virulence characteristics and diversity of STEC isolates in the state of New South Wales between December 2017 and May 2020. Utilisation of both whole and core genome multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) allowed for the inference of genomic diversity and detection of isolates that were likely to be epidemiologically linked. The most common STEC serotype and stx subtype detected in this study were O157:H7 and stx1a, respectively. A genomic scan of other virulence factors present in STEC suggested interplay between iron uptake system and virulence factors that mediate either iron release or countermeasures against host defence that could result in a reduction of stx1a expression. This reduced expression of the dominant stx genotype could contribute to the reduced incidence of STEC-related illness in Australia. Genomic surveillance of STEC becomes an important part of public health response and ongoing interrogation of virulence factors in STEC offers additional insights for the public health risk assessment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eby M Sim
- Enteric Reference Laboratory and Microbial Genomics Laboratory, Centre for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology Laboratory Services, NSW Health Pathology, Institute of Clinical Pathology and Medical Research, Westmead, NSW, Australia
| | - Ryan Kim
- Enteric Reference Laboratory and Microbial Genomics Laboratory, Centre for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology Laboratory Services, NSW Health Pathology, Institute of Clinical Pathology and Medical Research, Westmead, NSW, Australia
| | - Mailie Gall
- Enteric Reference Laboratory and Microbial Genomics Laboratory, Centre for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology Laboratory Services, NSW Health Pathology, Institute of Clinical Pathology and Medical Research, Westmead, NSW, Australia
| | - Alicia Arnott
- Enteric Reference Laboratory and Microbial Genomics Laboratory, Centre for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology Laboratory Services, NSW Health Pathology, Institute of Clinical Pathology and Medical Research, Westmead, NSW, Australia
| | - Peter Howard
- Enteric Reference Laboratory and Microbial Genomics Laboratory, Centre for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology Laboratory Services, NSW Health Pathology, Institute of Clinical Pathology and Medical Research, Westmead, NSW, Australia
| | - Mary Valcanis
- Microbiological Diagnostic Unit Public Health Laboratory, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Benjamin P Howden
- Microbiological Diagnostic Unit Public Health Laboratory, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Vitali Sintchenko
- Enteric Reference Laboratory and Microbial Genomics Laboratory, Centre for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology Laboratory Services, NSW Health Pathology, Institute of Clinical Pathology and Medical Research, Westmead, NSW, Australia.,Marie Bashir Institute for Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.,Centre for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology-Public Health, Westmead Hospital, Westmead, NSW, Australia
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Potential Zoonotic Pathovars of Diarrheagenic Escherichia coli Detected in Lambs for Human Consumption from Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. Microorganisms 2021; 9:microorganisms9081710. [PMID: 34442790 PMCID: PMC8401499 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms9081710] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2021] [Revised: 08/01/2021] [Accepted: 08/03/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Diarrheagenic Escherichia coli (DEC) pathovars impact childhood health. The southern region of Argentina shows the highest incidence of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) in children of the country. The big island of Tierra del Fuego (TDF) in Argentina registered an incidence of five cases/100,000 inhabitants of HUS in 2019. This work aimed to establish the prevalence of STEC, EPEC, and EAEC in lambs slaughtered in abattoirs from TDF as well as to characterize the phenotypes and the genotypes of the isolated pathogens. The prevalence was 26.6% for stx+, 5.7% for eae+, and 0.27% for aagR+/aaiC+. Twelve STEC isolates were obtained and belonged to the following serotypes: O70:HNT, O81:H21, O81:HNT, O102:H6, O128ab:H2, O174:H8, and O174:HNT. Their genotypic profiles were stx1c (2), stx1c/ehxA (3), stx2b/ehxA (1), stx1c/stx2b (2), and stx1c/stx2/ehxA (4). Six EPEC isolates were obtained and corresponded to five serotypes: O2:H40, O32:H8, O56:H6, O108:H21, and O177:H25. All the EPEC isolates were bfpA- and two were ehxA+. By XbaI-PFGE of 17 isolates, two clusters were identified. By antimicrobial susceptibility tests, 8/12 STEC and 5/6 EPEC were resistant to at least one antibiotic. This work provides new data to understand the ecology of DEC in TDF and confirms that ovine are an important carrier of these pathogens in the region.
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Comparative Pathogenomics of Escherichia coli: Polyvalent Vaccine Target Identification through Virulome Analysis. Infect Immun 2021; 89:e0011521. [PMID: 33941580 PMCID: PMC8281228 DOI: 10.1128/iai.00115-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Comparative genomics of bacterial pathogens has been useful for revealing potential virulence factors. Escherichia coli is a significant cause of human morbidity and mortality worldwide but can also exist as a commensal in the human gastrointestinal tract. With many sequenced genomes, it has served as a model organism for comparative genomic studies to understand the link between genetic content and potential for virulence. To date, however, no comprehensive analysis of its complete “virulome” has been performed for the purpose of identifying universal or pathotype-specific targets for vaccine development. Here, we describe the construction of a pathotype database of 107 well-characterized completely sequenced pathogenic and nonpathogenic E. coli strains, which we annotated for major virulence factors (VFs). The data are cross referenced for patterns against pathotype, phylogroup, and sequence type, and the results were verified against all 1,348 complete E. coli chromosomes in the NCBI RefSeq database. Our results demonstrate that phylogroup drives many of the “pathotype-associated” VFs, and ExPEC-associated VFs are found predominantly within the B2/D/F/G phylogenetic clade, suggesting that these phylogroups are better adapted to infect human hosts. Finally, we used this information to propose polyvalent vaccine targets with specificity toward extraintestinal strains, targeting key invasive strategies, including immune evasion (group 2 capsule), iron acquisition (FyuA, IutA, and Sit), adherence (SinH, Afa, Pap, Sfa, and Iha), and toxins (Usp, Sat, Vat, Cdt, Cnf1, and HlyA). While many of these targets have been proposed before, this work is the first to examine their pathotype and phylogroup distribution and how they may be targeted together to prevent disease.
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Elzhraa F, Al-Ashmawy M, El-Sherbini M, Abdelkhalek A. Critical occurrence of verotoxgenic E.coli and non-typhoidal salmonella in some heat treated dairy products. Ital J Food Saf 2021; 10:9318. [PMID: 34268144 PMCID: PMC8256307 DOI: 10.4081/ijfs.2021.9318] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2020] [Accepted: 03/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Pathogenic strains of E.coli and Salmonella are common causes of foodborne illness and have been frequently isolated from inadequately heat-treated milk products in Mansoura city. The current study was performed to explore the prevalence of E.coli and Salmonella spp. in heattreated milk products intended for consumption in Mansoura university hospitals and hostels, as well as, to investigate their serotypes and virulence potential. Seventyfive samples of heat-treated milk products (Soft cheese, yoghurt, and processed cheese, 25 of each) were randomly gathered and directed to further investigation using conventional and molecular microbiology. Result revealed that 3(12%) of soft cheese samples harbored E.coli O146:H21, O26:H11 and O128:H2 serotypes and 2(8%) of yoghurt samples were contaminated with O128:H2 and O121:H7 serotypes while 3(12%) of processed cheese samples were positive for non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) serovars (Salmonella Typhimurium, Salmonella Infantis and Salmonella Essen). Virulence gene profiling reported that all E.coli isolates harbored eaeA gene and only E.coli O26:H11 and O121:H7 encoded stx2 (verotoxin) gene. Further, all Salmonella isolates harbored invA and stn genes, while only Salmonella Typhimurium and Salmonella Infantis encoded spvC gene. This study confirmed the existence of highly pathogenic verotoxogenic E.coli (VTEC) and NTS in investigated milk products which could be hazardous for public health and resident in Mansoura hospitals and hostels. Hence, the implementation of good hygienic practices together with hazard analysis, and risk-based preventive control measures are rigorously required in the process of HACCP plan to eliminate the risk of contamination that may occur during the manufacturing process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fatma Elzhraa
- Department of Food Hygiene and Control, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt
| | - Maha Al-Ashmawy
- Department of Food Hygiene and Control, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt
| | - Mohammed El-Sherbini
- Department of Food Hygiene and Control, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt
| | - Adel Abdelkhalek
- Department of Food Hygiene and Control, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt
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Projahn M, Lamparter MC, Ganas P, Goehler A, Lorenz-Wright SC, Maede D, Fruth A, Lang C, Schuh E. Genetic diversity and pathogenic potential of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) derived from German flour. Int J Food Microbiol 2021; 347:109197. [PMID: 33895597 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2021.109197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2021] [Revised: 03/31/2021] [Accepted: 04/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) can cause severe human illness, which are frequently linked to the consumption of contaminated beef or dairy products. However, recent outbreaks associated with contaminated flour and undercooked dough in the United States and Canada, highlight the potential of plant based food as transmission routes for STEC. In Germany STEC has been isolated from flour, but no cases of illness have been linked to flour. In this study, we characterized 123 STEC strains isolated from flour and flour products collected between 2015 and 2019 across Germany. In addition to determination of serotype and Shiga toxin subtype, whole genome sequencing (WGS) was used for isolates collected in 2018 to determine phylogenetic relationships, sequence type (ST), and virulence-associated genes (VAGs). We found a high diversity of serotypes including those frequently associated with human illness and outbreaks, such as O157:H7 (stx2c/d, eae), O145:H28 (stx2a, eae), O146:H28 (stx2b), and O103:H2 (stx1a, eae). Serotypes O187:H28 (ST200, stx2g) and O154:H31 (ST1892, stx1d) were most prevalent, but are rarely linked to human cases. However, WGS analysis revealed that these strains, as well as, O156:H25 (ST300, stx1a) harbour high numbers of VAGs, including eae, nleB and est1a/sta1. Although STEC-contaminated flour products have yet not been epidemiologically linked to human clinical cases in Germany, this study revealed that flour can serve as a vector for STEC strains with a high pathogenic potential. Further investigation is needed to determine the sources of STEC contamination in flour and flour products particularly in regards to these rare serotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michaela Projahn
- German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Department of Biological Safety, National Reference Laboratory for Escherichia coli including VTEC, Berlin, Germany
| | - Marina C Lamparter
- German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Department of Biological Safety, National Reference Laboratory for Escherichia coli including VTEC, Berlin, Germany
| | - Petra Ganas
- German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Department of Biological Safety, National Reference Laboratory for Escherichia coli including VTEC, Berlin, Germany
| | - André Goehler
- German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Department of Biological Safety, National Reference Laboratory for Escherichia coli including VTEC, Berlin, Germany
| | - Sandra C Lorenz-Wright
- German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Department of Biological Safety, National Reference Laboratory for Escherichia coli including VTEC, Berlin, Germany
| | - Dietrich Maede
- Institute for Consumer Protection Saxony-Anhalt, Halle, Germany
| | - Angelika Fruth
- Robert Koch Institute, Division of Enteropathogenic Bacteria and Legionella, National Reference Centre for Salmonella and other Bacterial Enterics, Wernigerode, Germany
| | - Christina Lang
- Robert Koch Institute, Division of Enteropathogenic Bacteria and Legionella, National Reference Centre for Salmonella and other Bacterial Enterics, Wernigerode, Germany
| | - Elisabeth Schuh
- German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Department of Biological Safety, National Reference Laboratory for Escherichia coli including VTEC, Berlin, Germany.
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García A, Fox JG. A One Health Perspective for Defining and Deciphering Escherichia coli Pathogenic Potential in Multiple Hosts. Comp Med 2021; 71:3-45. [PMID: 33419487 PMCID: PMC7898170 DOI: 10.30802/aalas-cm-20-000054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2020] [Revised: 08/17/2020] [Accepted: 09/19/2020] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
E. coli is one of the most common species of bacteria colonizing humans and animals. The singularity of E. coli 's genus and species underestimates its multifaceted nature, which is represented by different strains, each with different combinations of distinct virulence factors. In fact, several E. coli pathotypes, or hybrid strains, may be associated with both subclinical infection and a range of clinical conditions, including enteric, urinary, and systemic infections. E. coli may also express DNA-damaging toxins that could impact cancer development. This review summarizes the different E. coli pathotypes in the context of their history, hosts, clinical signs, epidemiology, and control. The pathotypic characterization of E. coli in the context of disease in different animals, including humans, provides comparative and One Health perspectives that will guide future clinical and research investigations of E. coli infections.
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Key Words
- aa, aggregative adherence
- a/e, attaching and effacing
- aepec, atypical epec
- afa, afimbrial adhesin
- aida-i, adhesin involved in diffuse adherence
- aiec, adherent invasive e. coli
- apec, avian pathogenic e. coli
- atcc, american type culture collection
- bfp, bundle-forming pilus
- cd, crohn disease
- cdt, cytolethal distending toxin gene
- clb, colibactin
- cnf, cytotoxic necrotizing factor
- cs, coli surface (antigens)
- daec, diffusely adhering e. coli
- db, dutch belted
- eae, e. coli attaching and effacing gene
- eaec, enteroaggregative e. coli
- eaf, epec adherence factor (plasmid)
- eahec, entero-aggregative-hemorrhagic e. coli
- east-1, enteroaggregative e. coli heat-stable enterotoxin
- e. coli, escherichia coli
- ed, edema disease
- ehec, enterohemorrhagic e. coli
- eiec, enteroinvasive e. coli
- epec, enteropathogenic e. coli
- esbl, extended-spectrum β-lactamase
- esp, e. coli secreted protein
- etec, enterotoxigenic e. coli
- expec, extraintestinal pathogenic e. coli
- fyua, yersiniabactin receptor gene
- gi, gastrointestinal
- hly, hemolysin
- hus, hemolytic uremic syndrome
- ibd, inflammatory bowel disease
- la, localized adherence
- lee, locus of enterocyte effacement
- lpf, long polar fimbriae
- lt, heat-labile (enterotoxin)
- mlst, multilocus sequence typing
- ndm, new delhi metallo-β-lactamase
- nzw, new zealand white
- pap, pyelonephritis-associated pilus
- pks, polyketide synthase
- sfa, s fimbrial adhesin
- slt, shiga-like toxin
- st, heat-stable (enterotoxin)
- stec, stx-producing e. coli
- stx, shiga toxin
- tepec, typical epec
- upec, uropathogenic e. coli
- uti, urinary tract infection
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexis García
- Molecular Sciences Research Center, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico; Division of Comparative Medicine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Division of Comparative Medicine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts;,
| | - James G Fox
- Division of Comparative Medicine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
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Hua Y, Bai X, Zhang J, Jernberg C, Chromek M, Hansson S, Frykman A, Yang X, Xiong Y, Wan C, Matussek A. Molecular characteristics of eae-positive clinical Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli in Sweden. Emerg Microbes Infect 2020; 9:2562-2570. [PMID: 33179570 PMCID: PMC7733975 DOI: 10.1080/22221751.2020.1850182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2020] [Accepted: 11/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Shiga toxin (Stx)-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) can cause a wide range of symptoms from asymptomatic carriage, mild diarrhea to bloody diarrhea (BD) and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). Intimin, encoded by the eae gene, also plays a critical role in STEC pathogenesis. Herein, we investigated the prevalence and genetic diversity of eae among clinical STEC isolates from patients with diarrhea, BD, HUS as well as from asymptomatic STEC-positive individuals in Sweden with whole-genome sequencing. We found that 173 out of 239 (72.4%) of clinical STEC strains were eae positive. Six eae subtypes (ϵ1, γ1, β3, θ, ζ and ρ) were identified eae and its subtype γ1 were significantly overrepresented in O157:H7 strains isolated from BD and HUS patients. ϵ1 was associated with O121:H19 and O103:H2 strains, and β3 to O26:H11 strains. The combination of eae subtype γ1 and stx subtype (stx 2 or stx 1+stx 2) is more likely to cause severe disease, suggesting the possibility of using eae genotypes in risk assessment of STEC infection. In summary, this study demonstrated a high prevalence of eae in clinical STEC strains and considerable genetic diversity of eae in STEC strains in Sweden from 1994 through 2018, and revealed association between eae subtypes and disease severity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Hua
- Department of Microbiology, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
- Division of Clinical Microbiology, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, Sweden
| | - Xiangning Bai
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine Huddinge, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, Sweden
- State Key Laboratory of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Ji Zhang
- mEpiLab, School of Veterinary Science, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
| | | | - Milan Chromek
- Division of Pediatrics, Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology, Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Sverker Hansson
- Department of Pediatrics, Queen Silvia Children's Hospital, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Department of Pediatrics, Institute of Clinical Sciences, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Anne Frykman
- Department of Pediatrics, Queen Silvia Children's Hospital, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Department of Pediatrics, Institute of Clinical Sciences, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Xi Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Yanwen Xiong
- State Key Laboratory of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Chengsong Wan
- Department of Microbiology, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
| | - Andreas Matussek
- Division of Clinical Microbiology, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, Sweden
- Laboratory Medicine, Jönköping Region County, Jönköping, Sweden
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
- Division of Laboratory Medicine, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- Division of Laboratory Medicine, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
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11
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Ludwig JB, Shi X, Shridhar PB, Roberts EL, DebRoy C, Phebus RK, Bai J, Nagaraja TG. Multiplex PCR Assays for the Detection of One Hundred and Thirty Seven Serogroups of Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli Associated With Cattle. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2020; 10:378. [PMID: 32850480 PMCID: PMC7403468 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2020.00378] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2020] [Accepted: 06/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Escherichia coli carrying prophage with genes that encode for Shiga toxins are categorized as Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) pathotype. Illnesses caused by STEC in humans, which are often foodborne, range from mild to bloody diarrhea with life-threatening complications of renal failure and hemolytic uremic syndrome and even death, particularly in children. As many as 158 of the total 187 serogroups of E. coli are known to carry Shiga toxin genes, which makes STEC a major pathotype of E. coli. Seven STEC serogroups, called top-7, which include O26, O45, O103, O111, O121, O145, and O157, are responsible for the majority of the STEC-associated human illnesses. The STEC serogroups, other than the top-7, called “non-top-7” have also been associated with human illnesses, more often as sporadic infections. Ruminants, particularly cattle, are principal reservoirs of STEC and harbor the organisms in the hindgut and shed in the feces, which serves as a major source of food and water contaminations. A number of studies have reported on the fecal prevalence of top-7 STEC in cattle feces. However, there is paucity of data on the prevalence of non-top-7 STEC serogroups in cattle feces, generally because of lack of validated detection methods. The objective of our study was to develop and validate 14 sets of multiplex PCR (mPCR) assays targeting serogroup-specific genes to detect 137 non-top-7 STEC serogroups previously reported to be present in cattle feces. Each assay included 7–12 serogroups and primers were designed to amplify the target genes with distinct amplicon sizes for each serogroup that can be readily identified within each assay. The assays were validated with 460 strains of known serogroups. The multiplex PCR assays designed in our study can be readily adapted by most laboratories for rapid identification of strains belonging to the non-top-7 STEC serogroups associated with cattle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin B Ludwig
- Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, United States
| | - Xiaorong Shi
- Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, United States
| | - Pragathi B Shridhar
- Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, United States
| | - Elisabeth L Roberts
- E. coli Reference Center, Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States
| | - Chitrita DebRoy
- E. coli Reference Center, Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States
| | - Randy K Phebus
- Department of Animal Sciences and Industry/Food Science Institute, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, United States
| | - Jianfa Bai
- Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, Industry/Food Science Institute, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, United States
| | - T G Nagaraja
- Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, United States
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12
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Lan T, Liu H, Meng L, Xing M, Dong L, Gu M, Wang J, Zheng N. Antimicrobial susceptibility, phylotypes, and virulence genes of Escherichia coli from clinical bovine mastitis in five provinces of China. FOOD AGR IMMUNOL 2020. [DOI: 10.1080/09540105.2020.1736009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Tu Lan
- Key Laboratory of Quality & Safety Control for Milk and Dairy Products of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
- Laboratory of Quality and Safety Risk Assessment for Dairy Products of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Huimin Liu
- Key Laboratory of Quality & Safety Control for Milk and Dairy Products of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
- Laboratory of Quality and Safety Risk Assessment for Dairy Products of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Lu Meng
- Key Laboratory of Quality & Safety Control for Milk and Dairy Products of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
- Laboratory of Quality and Safety Risk Assessment for Dairy Products of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Mengru Xing
- Key Laboratory of Quality & Safety Control for Milk and Dairy Products of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
- Laboratory of Quality and Safety Risk Assessment for Dairy Products of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Lei Dong
- Key Laboratory of Quality & Safety Control for Milk and Dairy Products of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
- Laboratory of Quality and Safety Risk Assessment for Dairy Products of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Mei Gu
- Key Laboratory of Quality & Safety Control for Milk and Dairy Products of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
- Laboratory of Quality and Safety Risk Assessment for Dairy Products of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Jiaqi Wang
- Key Laboratory of Quality & Safety Control for Milk and Dairy Products of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
- Laboratory of Quality and Safety Risk Assessment for Dairy Products of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Nan Zheng
- Key Laboratory of Quality & Safety Control for Milk and Dairy Products of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
- Laboratory of Quality and Safety Risk Assessment for Dairy Products of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
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Host Range-Associated Clustering Based on Multilocus Variable-Number Tandem-Repeat Analysis, Phylotypes, and Virulence Genes of Atypical Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli Strains. Appl Environ Microbiol 2019; 85:AEM.02796-18. [PMID: 30658974 DOI: 10.1128/aem.02796-18] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2018] [Accepted: 01/02/2019] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Atypical enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (aEPEC) strains (36 Japanese and 50 Bangladeshi) obtained from 649 poultry fecal samples were analyzed by molecular epidemiological methods. Clermont's phylogenetic typing showed that group A was more prevalent (58%, 50/86) than B1 (31%, 27/86). Intimin type β1, which is prevalent among human diarrheal patients, was predominant in both phylogroups B1 (81%, 22/27) and A (70%, 35/50). However, about 95% of B1-β1 strains belonged to virulence group I, and 77% of them were Japanese strains, while 17% (6/35) of A-β1 strains did. Multilocus variable-number tandem-repeat analysis (MLVA) distributed the strains into 52 distinct profiles, with Simpson's index of diversity (D) at 73%. When the data were combined with those of 142 previous strains from different sources, the minimum spanning tree formed five zones for porcine strains, poultry strains (excluding B1-β1), strains from healthy humans, bovine and human patient strains, and the B1-β1 poultry strains. Antimicrobial resistance to nalidixic acid was most common (74%) among the isolates. Sixty-eight percent of them demonstrated resistance to ≥3 antimicrobial agents, and most of them (91%) were from Bangladesh. The strains were assigned into two groups by hierarchical clustering. Correlation matrix analysis revealed that the virulence genes were negatively associated with antimicrobial resistance. The present study suggested that poultry, particularly Japanese poultry, could be another reservoir of aEPEC (phylogroup B1, virulence group I, and intimin type β1); however, poultry strains seem to be apart from patient strains that were closer to bovine strains. Bangladeshi aEPEC may be less virulent for humans but more resistant to antibiotics.IMPORTANCE Atypical enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (aEPEC) is a diarrheagenic type of E. coli, as it possesses the intimin gene (eae) for attachment and effacement on epithelium. Since aEPEC is ubiquitous even in developed countries, we previously used molecular epidemiological methods to discriminate aEPEC as a human pathogen. The present study assessed poultry as another source of human diarrheagenic aEPEC. Poultry could be the source of aEPEC (phylogroup B1, virulence group I, and intimin type β1) found among patient strains in Japan. However, the minimum spanning tree (MST) suggested that the strains from Japanese poultry were far from Japanese patient strains compared with the distance between bovine and patient strains. Bangladeshi avian strains seemed to be less diarrheagenic but are hazardous as a source of drug resistance genes.
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Occurrence of Clinically Important Lineages, Including the Sequence Type 131 C1-M27 Subclone, among Extended-Spectrum-β-Lactamase-Producing Escherichia coli in Wastewater. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2017. [PMID: 28630184 DOI: 10.1128/aac.00564-17] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Contamination of environmental waters by extended-spectrum-β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli (ESBLEC) is of great concern. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and hospitals release large amounts of ESBLEC into the environment. In the present study, we isolated ESBLEC strains from wastewater collected from a WWTP and a hospital in Japan and performed whole-genome sequencing to characterize these strains. Genomic analysis of 54 strains (32 from the WWTP and 22 from hospital wastewater) revealed the occurrence of clinically important clonal groups with extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli status in the WWTP and hospital wastewater. Fine-scale phylogenetic analysis was performed to further characterize 15 sequence type 131 (ST131) complex strains (11 from the WWTP and 4 from hospital wastewater). These ST131 complex strains were comprised of the following different subgroups: clade A (n = 2), C1-M27 (n = 8), and C1 (non-C1-M27) (n = 1) for strains from the WWTP and clade A (n = 2), C1-M27 (n = 1), and C1 (non-C1-M27) (n = 1) for strains from hospital wastewater. The results indicate that ESBLEC strains belonging to clinically important lineages, including the C1-M27 clade, may disseminate into the environment through wastewater, highlighting the need to monitor for antibiotic resistance in wastewater.
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15
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Fierz L, Cernela N, Hauser E, Nüesch-Inderbinen M, Stephan R. Characteristics of Shigatoxin-Producing Escherichia coli Strains Isolated during 2010-2014 from Human Infections in Switzerland. Front Microbiol 2017; 8:1471. [PMID: 28824596 PMCID: PMC5540938 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2017.01471] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2017] [Accepted: 07/20/2017] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Objectives: The aim of this study was to characterize a collection of 95 Shigatoxin-producing E.coli (STEC) isolated from human patients in Switzerland during 2010-2014. Methods: We performed O and H serotyping and molecular subtyping. Results: The five most common serogroups were O157, O145, O26, O103, and O146. Of the 95 strains, 35 (36.8%) carried stx1 genes only, 43 strains (45.2%) carried stx2 and 17 (17.9%) harbored combinations of stx1 and stx2 genes. Stx1a (42 strains) and stx2a (32 strains) were the most frequently detected stx subtypes. Genes for intimin (eae), hemolysin (hly), iron-regulated adhesion (iha), and the subtilase cytotoxin subtypes subAB1, subAB2-1, subAB2-2, or subAB2-3 were detected in 70.5, 83.2, 74.7, and 20% of the strains, respectively. Multilocus sequence typing assigned the majority (58.9%) of the isolates to five different clonal complexes (CC), 11, 32, 29, 20, and 165, respectively. CC11 included all O157:[H7] and O55:[H7] isolates. CC32 comprised O145:[H28] isolates, and O145:[H25] belonged to sequence type (ST) 342. CC29 contained isolates of the O26:[H11], O111:[H8] and O118:[Hnt] serogroups, and CC20 encompassed isolates of O51:H49/[Hnt] and O103:[H2]. CC165 included isolates typed O80:[H2]-ST301, all harboring stx2d, eae-ξ, hly, and 66.7% additionally harboring iha. All O80:[H2]-ST301 strains harbored at least 7 genes carried by pS88, a plasmid associated with extraintestinal virulence. Compared to data from Switzerland from the years 2000-2009, an increase of the proportion of non-O157 STEC infections was observed as well as an increase of infections due to STEC O146. By contrast, the prevalence of the highly virulent German clone STEC O26:[H11]-ST29 decreased from 11.3% during 2000-2009 to 1.1% for the time span 2010-2014. The detection of O80:[H2]-ST301 harboring stx2d, eae-ξ, hly, iha, and pS88 related genes suggests an ongoing emergence in Switzerland of an unusual, highly pathogenic STEC serotype. Conclusions: Serotyping and molecular subtyping of clinical STEC demonstrate that although STEC O157 predominates among STEC isolated from diseased humans, non-O157 STEC infections are increasing in Switzerland, including those due to STEC O146:[H2/H21/H28]-ST442/ST738 harboring subAB variants, and the recently emerged STEC O80:[H2]-ST301 harboring eae-ξ and pS88 associated extraintestinal pathogenic virulence genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa Fierz
- Institute for Food Safety and Hygiene, Swiss National Centre for Enteropathogenic Bacteria and Listeria, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of ZurichZurich, Switzerland
| | - Nicole Cernela
- Institute for Food Safety and Hygiene, Swiss National Centre for Enteropathogenic Bacteria and Listeria, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of ZurichZurich, Switzerland
| | - Elisabeth Hauser
- National Reference Laboratory for Escherichia coli, Department of Biology Safety, Federal Institute for Risk AssessmentBerlin, Germany
| | - Magdalena Nüesch-Inderbinen
- Institute for Food Safety and Hygiene, Swiss National Centre for Enteropathogenic Bacteria and Listeria, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of ZurichZurich, Switzerland
| | - Roger Stephan
- Institute for Food Safety and Hygiene, Swiss National Centre for Enteropathogenic Bacteria and Listeria, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of ZurichZurich, Switzerland
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Alonso CA, Mora A, Díaz D, Blanco M, González-Barrio D, Ruiz-Fons F, Simón C, Blanco J, Torres C. Occurrence and characterization of stx and/or eae-positive Escherichia coli isolated from wildlife, including a typical EPEC strain from a wild boar. Vet Microbiol 2017; 207:69-73. [PMID: 28757042 DOI: 10.1016/j.vetmic.2017.05.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2017] [Revised: 05/27/2017] [Accepted: 05/29/2017] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) and enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) strains are food-borne pathogens associated with acute diarrhea. Haemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS) is often a complication of STEC infection. In order to examine the occurrence, serotypes, virulence and antimicrobial-resistance profiles of STEC and EPEC in wildlife, 326 faecal E. coli strains from 304 clinically healthy animals were analyzed. For this approach stx1, stx2 and eae genes, as well as accessory virulence determinants (ehx, hlyA, saa, tia, bfp, subAB) were PCR-screened and sequenced. Serotyping was performed employing all available O (O1-O185) and H (H1-H56) antisera. Genetic diversity was analyzed by XbaI-PFGE and phylotyping. Thirteen STEC (4.3%) and 10 EPEC (3.3%) were identified among 12 deer, 3 mouflon, 6 wild boars and 2 birds. Nine STEC showed seropathotypes B (O145:[H28]) and C (O22:H8, O128:[H2]) associated with HUS, and D (O110:H28, O146:H21, O146:[H28], ONT:H8) associated with human diarrhea. Although most isolates harbored stx2b and stx1c variants, stx2a and stx1a (related with severe disease) were also detected. Additionally, the eae gene was present in one stx2a-positive O145:[H28] STEC from a deer and 11 STEC harbored subAB genes (mainly the subAB2 variant). EPEC isolates showed 7 different intimin variants (β1, β2, γ1, ε1, ζ1, ι1-A, κ). Interestingly, the O49:[H10] eae-κ EPEC isolated from a wild boar was bfpA-positive showing a combination of serotype/virulence profile previously detected among human clinical tEPEC. Based on present results, wild ruminants, wild boars and to a lesser extent birds would be carriers of potentially pathogenic STEC and EPEC strains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carla Andrea Alonso
- Área Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Universidad de La Rioja, Logroño, Spain
| | - Azucena Mora
- Laboratorio de Referencia de E. coli (LREC), Departamento de Microbioloxía e Parasitoloxía, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, Spain
| | - Dafne Díaz
- Laboratorio de Referencia de E. coli (LREC), Departamento de Microbioloxía e Parasitoloxía, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, Spain
| | - Miguel Blanco
- Laboratorio de Referencia de E. coli (LREC), Departamento de Microbioloxía e Parasitoloxía, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, Spain
| | - David González-Barrio
- Grupo SaBio, Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos IREC (CSIC-UCLM-JCCM), Ciudad Real, Spain
| | - Francisco Ruiz-Fons
- Grupo SaBio, Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos IREC (CSIC-UCLM-JCCM), Ciudad Real, Spain
| | - Carmen Simón
- Facultad de Veterinaria,Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Jorge Blanco
- Laboratorio de Referencia de E. coli (LREC), Departamento de Microbioloxía e Parasitoloxía, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, Spain
| | - Carmen Torres
- Área Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Universidad de La Rioja, Logroño, Spain.
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Barth SA, Menge C, Eichhorn I, Semmler T, Pickard D, Geue L. Evaluation of applicability of DNA microarray–based characterization of bovine Shiga toxin–producing Escherichia coli isolates using whole genome sequence analysis. J Vet Diagn Invest 2017; 29:721-724. [DOI: 10.1177/1040638717700689] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
We assessed the ability of a commercial DNA microarray to characterize bovine Shiga toxin–producing Escherichia coli (STEC) isolates and evaluated the results using in silico hybridization of the microarray probes within whole genome sequencing scaffolds. From a total of 69,954 reactions (393 probes with 178 isolates), 68,706 (98.2%) gave identical results by DNA microarray and in silico probe hybridization. Results were more congruent when detecting the genoserotype (209 differing results from 19,758 in total; 1.1%) or antimicrobial resistance genes (AMRGs; 141 of 26,878; 0.5%) than when detecting virulence-associated genes (VAGs; 876 of 22,072; 4.0%). Owing to the limited coverage of O-antigens by the microarray, only 37.2% of the isolates could be genoserotyped. However, the microarray proved suitable to rapidly screen bovine STEC strains for the occurrence of high numbers of VAGs and AMRGs and is suitable for molecular surveillance workflows.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefanie A. Barth
- Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut/Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Institute of Molecular Pathogenesis, Jena, Germany (Barth, Menge, Geue)
- Free University Berlin, Institute of Microbiology and Epizootics, Berlin, Germany (Eichhorn, Semmler)
- Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany (Semmler)
- The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, The Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, UK (Pickard)
| | - Christian Menge
- Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut/Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Institute of Molecular Pathogenesis, Jena, Germany (Barth, Menge, Geue)
- Free University Berlin, Institute of Microbiology and Epizootics, Berlin, Germany (Eichhorn, Semmler)
- Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany (Semmler)
- The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, The Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, UK (Pickard)
| | - Inga Eichhorn
- Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut/Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Institute of Molecular Pathogenesis, Jena, Germany (Barth, Menge, Geue)
- Free University Berlin, Institute of Microbiology and Epizootics, Berlin, Germany (Eichhorn, Semmler)
- Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany (Semmler)
- The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, The Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, UK (Pickard)
| | - Torsten Semmler
- Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut/Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Institute of Molecular Pathogenesis, Jena, Germany (Barth, Menge, Geue)
- Free University Berlin, Institute of Microbiology and Epizootics, Berlin, Germany (Eichhorn, Semmler)
- Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany (Semmler)
- The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, The Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, UK (Pickard)
| | - Derek Pickard
- Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut/Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Institute of Molecular Pathogenesis, Jena, Germany (Barth, Menge, Geue)
- Free University Berlin, Institute of Microbiology and Epizootics, Berlin, Germany (Eichhorn, Semmler)
- Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany (Semmler)
- The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, The Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, UK (Pickard)
| | - Lutz Geue
- Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut/Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Institute of Molecular Pathogenesis, Jena, Germany (Barth, Menge, Geue)
- Free University Berlin, Institute of Microbiology and Epizootics, Berlin, Germany (Eichhorn, Semmler)
- Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany (Semmler)
- The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, The Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, UK (Pickard)
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18
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Zweifel C, Fierz L, Cernela N, Laaksonen S, Fredriksson-Ahomaa M, Stephan R. Characteristics of Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli O157 in Slaughtered Reindeer from Northern Finland. J Food Prot 2017; 80:454-458. [PMID: 28207302 DOI: 10.4315/0362-028x.jfp-16-457] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Fecal samples collected from 470 slaughtered reindeer 6 to 7 months of age were screened by real-time PCR (after enrichment) for Shiga toxin genes (stx) and then for Escherichia coli serogroup O157. Shiga toxin genes were found frequently (>30% of samples), and serogroup O157 was detected in 20% of the stx-positive samples. From these samples, a total of 25 E. coli O157:H- isolates (nonmotile but PCR positive for fliCH7) were obtained. Twenty-four of these E. coli O157:H- isolates did not ferment sorbitol and originated from one geographic area. These 24 isolates belonged to the multilocus sequence type 11, typical for Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) O157:H7 and O157:H-, and harbored genes stx1a, stx2c, eae, and hlyA; the stx2c subtype has been associated with high virulence. In contrast, one E. coli O157:H- isolate (multilocus sequence type 11) did ferment sorbitol, lacked Shiga toxin genes, but was positive for eae, hlyA, and sfpA. This isolate closely resembled an STEC that has lost its Shiga toxin genes. Additional examination revealed that reindeer can be colonized by various other STEC isolates; 21 non-O157 STEC isolates belonged to four multilocus sequence types, harbored stx1a (8 isolates) or stx2b (13 isolates), and in the stx2b-positive isolates the recently described new allelic variants (subAB2-2 and subAB2-3) for subtilase cytotoxin were identified. Hence, slaughtered semidomesticated Finnish reindeer might constitute a little known reservoir for STEC O157:H7/H- and other serogroups, and the risk of direct or indirect transmission of these pathogens from reindeer to humans and domestic livestock must not be overlooked.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudio Zweifel
- 1 Institute for Food Safety and Hygiene, Vetsuisse Faculty University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Lisa Fierz
- 1 Institute for Food Safety and Hygiene, Vetsuisse Faculty University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Nicole Cernela
- 1 Institute for Food Safety and Hygiene, Vetsuisse Faculty University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Sauli Laaksonen
- 2 Department of Veterinary Biosciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Maria Fredriksson-Ahomaa
- 3 Department of Food Hygiene and Environmental Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Roger Stephan
- 1 Institute for Food Safety and Hygiene, Vetsuisse Faculty University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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Tabaran A, Mihaiu M, Tăbăran F, Colobatiu L, Reget O, Borzan MM, Dan SD. First study on characterization of virulence and antibiotic resistance genes in verotoxigenic and enterotoxigenic E. coli isolated from raw milk and unpasteurized traditional cheeses in Romania. Folia Microbiol (Praha) 2016; 62:145-150. [DOI: 10.1007/s12223-016-0481-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2015] [Accepted: 11/01/2016] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Álvarez-Suárez ME, Otero A, García-López ML, Dahbi G, Blanco M, Mora A, Blanco J, Santos JA. Genetic characterization of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) and atypical enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) isolates from goat's milk and goat farm environment. Int J Food Microbiol 2016; 236:148-54. [PMID: 27497630 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2016.07.035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2016] [Revised: 07/06/2016] [Accepted: 07/30/2016] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The aim of this study was to characterize a collection of 44 Shiga toxin-producing (STEC) and enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) isolated from goat milk and goat farm environment. Of the 19 STEC isolates, five (26.3%) carried the stx1 gene, four (21.1%) the stx2 gene and 10 (52.6%) presented both stx genes. Six (31.6%) STEC strains were eae-positive and belonged to serotypes related to severe human disease (O157:H7 and O5:HNM). Another seven STEC strains were of serotype O146:H21 and three of serotype O166:H28, also linked to human disease. The STEC strains isolated from goat milk were of serotypes potentially pathogenic for humans. All the 25 EPEC isolates were considered atypical (aEPEC) and one aEPEC strain was of serotype O26:H11, a serotype frequently isolated in children with diarrhea. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) was carried out with seven housekeeping genes and 23 sequence types (ST) were detected, 14 of them newly described. Twelve STs grouped STEC isolates and 11 STs grouped EPEC isolates. Genetic typing by pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) resulted in 38 patterns which grouped in 10 clusters. Well-defined groups were also observed for strains of pathogenic serotypes. In conclusion, strains of STEC and aEPEC belonging to serotypes related to severe human disease have been detected in goat milk and the goat farm environment. Ruminants are an important reservoir of STEC strains and the role of these animals as carriers of other pathogenic types of E. coli seems to be an emerging concern.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Andrés Otero
- Department of Food Hygiene and Food Technology, Veterinary Faculty, University of León, Spain.
| | | | - Ghizlane Dahbi
- Laboratorio de Referencia de E. coli (LREC), Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Veterinary Faculty, University of Santiago de Compostela (USC), Lugo, Spain.
| | - Miguel Blanco
- Laboratorio de Referencia de E. coli (LREC), Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Veterinary Faculty, University of Santiago de Compostela (USC), Lugo, Spain.
| | - Azucena Mora
- Laboratorio de Referencia de E. coli (LREC), Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Veterinary Faculty, University of Santiago de Compostela (USC), Lugo, Spain.
| | - Jorge Blanco
- Laboratorio de Referencia de E. coli (LREC), Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Veterinary Faculty, University of Santiago de Compostela (USC), Lugo, Spain.
| | - Jesús A Santos
- Department of Food Hygiene and Food Technology, Veterinary Faculty, University of León, Spain.
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Vasco K, Graham JP, Trueba G. Detection of Zoonotic Enteropathogens in Children and Domestic Animals in a Semirural Community in Ecuador. Appl Environ Microbiol 2016; 82:4218-4224. [PMID: 27208122 PMCID: PMC4959199 DOI: 10.1128/aem.00795-16] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2016] [Accepted: 04/29/2016] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
UNLABELLED Animals are important reservoirs of zoonotic enteropathogens, and transmission to humans occurs more frequently in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where small-scale livestock production is common. In this study, we investigated the presence of zoonotic enteropathogens in stool samples from 64 asymptomatic children and 203 domestic animals of 62 households in a semirural community in Ecuador between June and August 2014. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) was used to assess zoonotic transmission of Campylobacter jejuni and atypical enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (aEPEC), which were the most prevalent bacterial pathogens in children and domestic animals (30.7% and 10.5%, respectively). Four sequence types (STs) of C. jejuni and four STs of aEPEC were identical between children and domestic animals. The apparent sources of human infection were chickens, dogs, guinea pigs, and rabbits for C. jejuni and pigs, dogs, and chickens for aEPEC. Other pathogens detected in children and domestic animals were Giardia lamblia (13.1%), Cryptosporidium parvum (1.1%), and Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) (2.6%). Salmonella enterica was detected in 5 dogs and Yersinia enterocolitica was identified in 1 pig. Even though we identified 7 enteric pathogens in children, we encountered evidence of active transmission between domestic animals and humans only for C. jejuni and aEPEC. We also found evidence that C. jejuni strains from chickens were more likely to be transmitted to humans than those coming from other domestic animals. Our findings demonstrate the complex nature of enteropathogen transmission between domestic animals and humans and stress the need for further studies. IMPORTANCE We found evidence that Campylobacter jejuni, Giardia, and aEPEC organisms were the most common zoonotic enteropathogens in children and domestic animals in a region close to Quito, the capital of Ecuador. Genetic analysis of the isolates suggests transmission of some genotypes of C. jejuni and aEPEC from domestic animals to humans in this region. We also found that the genotypes associated with C. jejuni from chickens were present more often in children than were those from other domestic animals. The potential environmental factors associated with transmission of these pathogens to humans then are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karla Vasco
- Microbiology Institute, Colegio de Ciencias Biologicas y Ambientales, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Quito, Ecuador
| | - Jay P Graham
- Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Gabriel Trueba
- Microbiology Institute, Colegio de Ciencias Biologicas y Ambientales, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Quito, Ecuador
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22
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Heinz E, Stubenrauch CJ, Grinter R, Croft NP, Purcell AW, Strugnell RA, Dougan G, Lithgow T. Conserved Features in the Structure, Mechanism, and Biogenesis of the Inverse Autotransporter Protein Family. Genome Biol Evol 2016; 8:1690-705. [PMID: 27190006 PMCID: PMC4943183 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evw112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The bacterial cell surface proteins intimin and invasin are virulence factors that share a common domain structure and bind selectively to host cell receptors in the course of bacterial pathogenesis. The β-barrel domains of intimin and invasin show significant sequence and structural similarities. Conversely, a variety of proteins with sometimes limited sequence similarity have also been annotated as “intimin-like” and “invasin” in genome datasets, while other recent work on apparently unrelated virulence-associated proteins ultimately revealed similarities to intimin and invasin. Here we characterize the sequence and structural relationships across this complex protein family. Surprisingly, intimins and invasins represent a very small minority of the sequence diversity in what has been previously the “intimin/invasin protein family”. Analysis of the assembly pathway for expression of the classic intimin, EaeA, and a characteristic example of the most prevalent members of the group, FdeC, revealed a dependence on the translocation and assembly module as a common feature for both these proteins. While the majority of the sequences in the grouping are most similar to FdeC, a further and widespread group is two-partner secretion systems that use the β-barrel domain as the delivery device for secretion of a variety of virulence factors. This comprehensive analysis supports the adoption of the “inverse autotransporter protein family” as the most accurate nomenclature for the family and, in turn, has important consequences for our overall understanding of the Type V secretion systems of bacterial pathogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Heinz
- Department of Microbiology, Infection & Immunity Program, Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, Australia Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, United Kingdom
| | - Christopher J Stubenrauch
- Department of Microbiology, Infection & Immunity Program, Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, Australia
| | - Rhys Grinter
- Department of Microbiology, Infection & Immunity Program, Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, Australia Institute of Microbiology and Infection, School of Immunity and Infection, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | - Nathan P Croft
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Infection & Immunity Program, Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, Australia
| | - Anthony W Purcell
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Infection & Immunity Program, Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, Australia
| | - Richard A Strugnell
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
| | - Gordon Dougan
- Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, United Kingdom
| | - Trevor Lithgow
- Department of Microbiology, Infection & Immunity Program, Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, Australia
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Cabal A, Geue L, Gómez-Barrero S, Barth S, Bárcena C, Hamm K, Porrero MC, Valverde A, Cantón R, Menge C, Gortázar C, Domínguez L, Álvarez J. Detection of virulence-associated genes characteristic of intestinal Escherichia coli pathotypes, including the enterohemorrhagic/enteroaggregative O104:H4, in bovines from Germany and Spain. Microbiol Immunol 2016; 59:433-42. [PMID: 26085084 DOI: 10.1111/1348-0421.12275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2015] [Revised: 06/08/2015] [Accepted: 06/12/2015] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Cattle are reservoirs of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli; however, their role in the epidemiology of other pathogenic E. coli remains undefined. A new set of quantitative real-time PCR assays for the direct detection and quantification of nine virulence-associated genes (VAGs) characteristic of the most important human E. coli pathotypes and four serotype-related genes (wzxO104 , fliCH4 , rbfO157 , fliCH7 ) that can be used as a surveillance tool for detection of pathogenic strains was developed. A total of 970 cattle fecal samples were collected in slaughterhouses in Germany and Spain, pooled into 134 samples and analyzed with this tool. stx1, eae and invA were more prevalent in Spanish samples whereas bfpA, stx2, ehxA, elt, est and the rbfO157 /fliCH7 combination were observed in similar proportions in both countries. Genes characteristic of the hybrid O104:H4 strain of the 2011 German outbreak (stx2/aggR/wzxO104 /fliCH4 ) were simultaneously detected in six fecal pools from one German abattoir located near the outbreak epicenter. Although no isolate harboring the full stx2/aggR/wzxO104 /fliCH4 combination was cultured, sequencing of the aggR positive PCR products revealed 100% homology to the aggR from the outbreak strain. Concomitant detection by this direct approach of VAGs from a novel human pathogenic E. coli strain in cattle samples implies that the E. coli gene pool in these animals can be implicated in de novo formation of such highly-virulent strains. The application of this set of qPCRs in surveillance studies could be an efficient early-warning tool for the emergence of zoonotic E. coli in livestock.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adriana Cabal
- VISAVET Health Surveillance Centre, Complutense University, 28040, Madrid.,SaBio-IREC, National Wildlife Research Institute, CSIC-Castilla-La Mancha University, 13071, Ciudad Real
| | - Lutz Geue
- Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Institute of Molecular Pathogenesis, 07745, Jena, Germany
| | | | - Stefanie Barth
- Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Institute of Molecular Pathogenesis, 07745, Jena, Germany
| | - Carmen Bárcena
- VISAVET Health Surveillance Centre, Complutense University, 28040, Madrid
| | - Katharina Hamm
- Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Institute of Molecular Pathogenesis, 07745, Jena, Germany
| | | | - Aránzazu Valverde
- VISAVET Health Surveillance Centre, Complutense University, 28040, Madrid
| | - Rafael Cantón
- Microbiology Unit, University Hospital Ramón y Cajal and Institute Ramón y Cajal for Health Research, Madrid.,Antimicrobial Resistance and Bacterial Virulence Unit associated with the Spanish National Research Council, Madrid, Spain
| | - Christian Menge
- Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Institute of Molecular Pathogenesis, 07745, Jena, Germany
| | - Christian Gortázar
- SaBio-IREC, National Wildlife Research Institute, CSIC-Castilla-La Mancha University, 13071, Ciudad Real
| | - Lucas Domínguez
- SaBio-IREC, National Wildlife Research Institute, CSIC-Castilla-La Mancha University, 13071, Ciudad Real
| | - Julio Álvarez
- Microbiology Unit, University Hospital Ramón y Cajal and Institute Ramón y Cajal for Health Research, Madrid.,Department of Veterinary Population Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, 55455, USA
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Molecular Characterization of Human Atypical Sorbitol-Fermenting Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli O157 Reveals High Diversity. J Clin Microbiol 2016; 54:1357-63. [PMID: 26984976 DOI: 10.1128/jcm.02897-15] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2015] [Accepted: 03/07/2016] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Alongside the well-characterized enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) O157:H7, serogroup O157 comprises sorbitol-fermenting typical and atypical enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC/aEPEC) strains that carry the intimin-encoding gene eae but not Shiga toxin-encoding genes (stx). Since little is known about these pathogens, we characterized 30 clinical isolates from patients with hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) or uncomplicated diarrhea with respect to their flagellin gene (fliC) type and multilocus sequence type (MLST). Moreover, we applied whole-genome sequencing (WGS) to determine the phylogenetic relationship with other eae-positive EHEC serotypes and the composition of the rfbO157 region. fliC typing resulted in five fliC types (H7, H16, H34, H39, and H45). Isolates of each fliC type shared a unique ST. In comparison to the 42 HUS-associated E. coli (HUSEC) strains, only the stx-negative isolates with fliCH7 shared their ST with EHEC O157:H7/H(-) strains. With the exception of one O157:H(-) fliCH16 isolate, HUS was exclusively associated with fliCH7. WGS corroborated the separation of the fliCH7 isolates, which were closely related to the EHEC O157:H7/H(-) isolates, and the diverse group of isolates exhibiting different fliC types, indicating independent evolution of the different serotypes. This was also supported by the heterogeneity within the rfbO157 region that exhibited extensive recombinations. The genotypic subtypes and distribution of clinical symptoms suggested that the stx-negative O157 strains with fliCH7 were originally EHEC strains that lost stx The remaining isolates form a distinct and diverse group of atypical EPEC isolates that do not possess the full spectrum of virulence genes, underlining the importance of identifying the H antigen for clinical risk assessment.
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Doregiraee F, Alebouyeh M, Nayeri Fasaei B, Charkhkar S, Tajedin E, Zali MR. Isolation of atypical enteropathogenic and shiga toxin encoding Escherichia coli strains from poultry in Tehran, Iran. GASTROENTEROLOGY AND HEPATOLOGY FROM BED TO BENCH 2016; 9:53-7. [PMID: 26744615 PMCID: PMC4702042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
AIM The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) and shiga toxin producing E. coli (STEC) strains in healthy broilers in Iran. BACKGROUND STEC and EPEC strains as diarrheagenic E. coli are among the most prevalent causative agents in acute diarrhea. Domestic animals, mainly cattle and sheep, have been implicated as the principal reservoirs of these pathotypes; however their prevalence among the broilers is varied among different countries. PATIENTS AND METHODS A total of 500 cloacal swab samples from broilers of five different poultry houses (A-E) were collected to investigate the presence of stx1, stx2, hly, eae, and bfp virulence genes among the E. coli isolates by polymerase chain reaction. The shiga toxin encoding strains were evaluated serologically to detect their interaction with a commercial antiserum against O157 antigen. RESULTS Out of the 500 collected samples, 444 E. coli strains were isolated. Three strains (0.67%) presented at least one of the studied virulence genes (stx2, hly and eae), two strains were identified as STEC (stx2 (+), O157:nonH7) and one as an atypical EPEC strains (eae (+) bfp (-)). CONCLUSION The study established the presence of STEC and atypical EPEC in healthy broilers in Iran. Poultry might serve as vectors for transmission of pathogenic E. coli to human populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fatemeh Doregiraee
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran,Foodborne and Waterborne Diseases Research Center, Research Institute for Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Masoud Alebouyeh
- Foodborne and Waterborne Diseases Research Center, Research Institute for Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran,Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases Research Center, Research Institute for Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Bahar Nayeri Fasaei
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Saeed Charkhkar
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch, Tehran, Iran
| | - Elahe Tajedin
- Foodborne and Waterborne Diseases Research Center, Research Institute for Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mohammad Reza Zali
- Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases Research Center, Research Institute for Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
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Kubomura A, Kojima Y, Okabe N. [Frequency and Characterization of EPEC and EAggEC Isolated in Kawasaki City]. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2015; 89:37-45. [PMID: 26548295 DOI: 10.11150/kansenshogakuzasshi.89.37] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Thirty isolates of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) and 32 isolates of enteroaggregative E. coli (EAggEC) were isolated from 1,029 stool samples collected from Spring 2012 to December 2013 in Kawasaki city with the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method targeting eae and aggR genes. Among the 30 EPEC and 32 EAggEC isolates, only 9 strains of EPEC and 8 strains of EAggEC were typed with the commercial O-antisera, whereas the majority of strains were untypable. However, several O-untypable EPEC and EAggEC strains were suggested to harbor the same O-antigen because of the detection of several examples of the same H-antigen. Analysis of the HEp-2 cell adherence test showed positive for only 2 strains (6.6%) of 30 EPEC isolates, meanwhile it showed positive for 16 strains (50.0%) of 32 EAggEC isolates. From these data, we concluded that EAggEC might be more virulent than EPEC, although both EAggEC and EPEC were isolated with almost similar rates from collected stool specimens.
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Enteropathogenic and enteroaggregative E. coli in stools of children with acute gastroenteritis in Davidson County, Tennessee. Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis 2015; 83:319-24. [PMID: 26298817 DOI: 10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2015.07.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2015] [Accepted: 07/20/2015] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
This prospective acute gastroenteritis (AGE) surveillance was conducted in the inpatient and emergency room settings at a referral pediatric hospital to determine the prevalence of diarrheagenic Escherichia coli (DEC) in children <12years of age with AGE in Davidson County, Tennessee. Subjects 15 days to 11 years of age, who presented with diarrhea and/or vomiting, were enrolled. Stool specimens were processed for detection of DEC using multiplex polymerase chain reaction. From December 1, 2011, to June 30, 2012, a total of 79 (38%) out of 206 stool specimens from children with AGE tested positive for E. coli. A total of 12 (5.8%) out of 206 stool specimens from children with AGE were positive for a DEC. Eight (67%) out of these 12 were positive for enteropathogenic E. coli, and the remaining 4 were positive for enteroaggregative E. coli. DEC clinical isolates clustered with known E. coli enteropathogens according to multilocus sequencing typing.
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Calhau V, Mendes C, Pena A, Mendonça N, Da Silva GJ. Virulence and plasmidic resistance determinants of Escherichia coli isolated from municipal and hospital wastewater treatment plants. JOURNAL OF WATER AND HEALTH 2015; 13:311-318. [PMID: 26042965 DOI: 10.2166/wh.2014.327] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Escherichia coli is simultaneously an indicator of water contamination and a human pathogen. This study aimed to characterize the virulence and resistance of E. coli from municipal and hospital wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in central Portugal. From a total of 193 isolates showing reduced susceptibility to cefotaxime and/or nalidixic acid, 20 E. coli with genetically distinct fingerprint profiles were selected and characterized. Resistance to antimicrobials was determined using the disc diffusion method. Extended spectrum β-lactamase and plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance genes, phylogroups, pathogenicity islands (PAIs) and virulence genes were screened by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). CTX-M producers were typed by multilocus sequence typing. Resistance to beta-lactams was associated with the presence of bla(TEM), bla(SHV), bla(CTX-M-15) and bla(CTX-M-32). Plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance was associated with qnrA, qnrS and aac(6')-Ib-cr. Aminoglycoside resistance and multidrug-resistant phenotypes were also detected. PAI IV(536), PAI II(CFT073), PAI II(536) and PAI I(CFT073), and uropathogenic genes iutA, papAH and sfa/foc were detected. With regard to the clinical ST131 clone, it carried bla(CTX-M-15), blaTEM-type, qnrS and aac(6')-lb-cr; IncF and IncP plasmids, and virulence factors PAI IV(536), PAI I(CFT073), PAI II(CFT073), iutA, sfa/foc and papAH were identified in the effluent of a hospital plant. WWTPs contribute to the dissemination of virulent and resistant bacteria in water ecosystems, constituting an environmental and public health risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vera Calhau
- Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Coimbra, Health Sciences Campus, Azinhaga de Santa Comba, 3000-548 Coimbra, Portugal E-mail: ; Center of Neurosciences and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Catarina Mendes
- Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Coimbra, Health Sciences Campus, Azinhaga de Santa Comba, 3000-548 Coimbra, Portugal E-mail:
| | - Angelina Pena
- Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Coimbra, Health Sciences Campus, Azinhaga de Santa Comba, 3000-548 Coimbra, Portugal E-mail:
| | - Nuno Mendonça
- Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Coimbra, Health Sciences Campus, Azinhaga de Santa Comba, 3000-548 Coimbra, Portugal E-mail: ; Center of Neurosciences and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
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McNeilly TN, Mitchell MC, Corbishley A, Nath M, Simmonds H, McAteer SP, Mahajan A, Low JC, Smith DGE, Huntley JF, Gally DL. Optimizing the Protection of Cattle against Escherichia coli O157:H7 Colonization through Immunization with Different Combinations of H7 Flagellin, Tir, Intimin-531 or EspA. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0128391. [PMID: 26020530 PMCID: PMC4447243 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0128391] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2015] [Accepted: 04/24/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) are important human pathogens, causing hemorrhagic colitis and hemolytic uraemic syndrome in humans. E. coli O157:H7 is the most common serotype associated with EHEC infections worldwide, although other non-O157 serotypes cause life-threatening infections. Cattle are a main reservoir of EHEC and intervention strategies aimed at limiting EHEC excretion from cattle are predicted to lower the risk of human infection. We have previously shown that immunization of calves with recombinant versions of the type III secretion system (T3SS)-associated proteins EspA, intimin and Tir from EHEC O157:H7 significantly reduced shedding of EHEC O157 from experimentally-colonized calves, and that protection could be augmented by the addition of H7 flagellin to the vaccine formulation. The main aim of the present study was to optimize our current EHEC O157 subunit vaccine formulations by identifying the key combinations of these antigens required for protection. A secondary aim was to determine if vaccine-induced antibody responses exhibited cross-reactive potential with antigens from other EHEC serotypes. Immunization with EspA, intimin and Tir resulted in a reduction in mean EHEC O157 shedding following challenge, but not the mean proportion of calves colonized. Removal of Tir resulted in more prolonged shedding compared with all other groups, whereas replacement of Tir with H7 flagellin resulted in the highest levels of protection, both in terms of reducing both mean EHEC O157 shedding and the proportion of colonized calves. Immunization of calves with recombinant EHEC O157 EspA, intimin and Tir resulted in the generation of antibodies capable of cross-reacting with antigens from non-O157 EHEC serotypes, suggesting that immunization with these antigens may provide a degree of cross-protection against other EHEC serotypes. Further studies are now required to test the efficacy of these vaccines in the field, and to formally test the cross-protective potential of the vaccines against other non-O157 EHEC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tom N. McNeilly
- Moredun Research Institute, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
| | | | - Alexander Corbishley
- Moredun Research Institute, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
- Division of Immunity and Infection, The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Mintu Nath
- Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Hannah Simmonds
- Division of Immunity and Infection, The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Sean P. McAteer
- Division of Immunity and Infection, The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Arvind Mahajan
- Division of Immunity and Infection, The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - J. Christopher Low
- Division of Immunity and Infection, The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - David G. E. Smith
- Moredun Research Institute, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
- Institute of Infection, Immunity & Inflammation, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | | | - David L. Gally
- Division of Immunity and Infection, The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
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Sacristán C, Esperón F, Herrera-León S, Iglesias I, Neves E, Nogal V, Muñoz MJ, de la Torre A. Virulence genes, antibiotic resistance and integrons in Escherichia coli strains isolated from synanthropic birds from Spain. Avian Pathol 2015; 43:172-5. [PMID: 24689431 DOI: 10.1080/03079457.2014.897683] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
The aim of this study was to determine the presence of virulence genes and antibiotic resistance profiles in 164 Escherichia coli strains isolated from birds (feral pigeons, hybrid ducks, house sparrows and spotless starlings) inhabiting urban and rural environments. A total of eight atypical enteropathogenic E. coli strains were identified: one in a house sparrow, four in feral pigeons and three in spotless starlings. Antibiotic resistance was present in 32.9% (54) of E. coli strains. The dominant type of resistance was to tetracycline (21.3%), ampicillin (19.5%) and sulfamethoxazole (18.9%). Five isolates had class 1 integrons containing gene cassettes encoding for dihydrofolate reductase A (dfrA) and aminoglycoside adenyltransferase A (aadA), one in a feral pigeon and four in spotless starlings. To our knowledge, the present study constitutes the first detection of virulence genes from E. coli in spotless starlings and house sparrows, and is also the first identification worldwide of integrons containing antibiotic resistance gene cassettes in E. coli strains from spotless starlings and pigeons.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Sacristán
- a Group of Epidemiology and Environmental Health , Animal Health Research Centre (CISA-INIA) , Madrid , Spain
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Rahal EA, Fadlallah SM, Nassar FJ, Kazzi N, Matar GM. Approaches to treatment of emerging Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli infections highlighting the O104:H4 serotype. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2015; 5:24. [PMID: 25853096 PMCID: PMC4364364 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2015.00024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2015] [Accepted: 03/04/2015] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) are a group of diarrheagenic bacteria associated with foodborne outbreaks. Infection with these agents may result in grave sequelae that include fatality. A large number of STEC serotypes has been identified to date. E. coli serotype O104:H4 is an emerging pathogen responsible for a 2011 outbreak in Europe that resulted in over 4000 infections and 50 deaths. STEC pathogenicity is highly reliant on the production of one or more Shiga toxins that can inhibit protein synthesis in host cells resulting in a cytotoxicity that may affect various organ systems. Antimicrobials are usually avoided in the treatment of STEC infections since they are believed to induce bacterial cell lysis and the release of stored toxins. Some antimicrobials have also been reported to enhance toxin synthesis and production from these organisms. Various groups have attempted alternative treatment approaches including the administration of toxin-directed antibodies, toxin-adsorbing polymers, probiotic agents and natural remedies. The utility of antibiotics in treating STEC infections has also been reconsidered in recent years with certain modalities showing promise.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elias A Rahal
- Department of Experimental Pathology, Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, American University of Beirut Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Sukayna M Fadlallah
- Department of Experimental Pathology, Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, American University of Beirut Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Farah J Nassar
- Department of Experimental Pathology, Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, American University of Beirut Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Natalie Kazzi
- Department of Experimental Pathology, Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, American University of Beirut Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Ghassan M Matar
- Department of Experimental Pathology, Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, American University of Beirut Beirut, Lebanon
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Dutta S, Pazhani GP, Nataro JP, Ramamurthy T. Heterogenic virulence in a diarrheagenic Escherichia coli: evidence for an EPEC expressing heat-labile toxin of ETEC. Int J Med Microbiol 2014; 305:47-54. [PMID: 25465159 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijmm.2014.10.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2014] [Revised: 10/12/2014] [Accepted: 10/20/2014] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
We have encountered an Escherichia coli strain isolated from a child with acute diarrhea. This strain harbored eae and elt genes encoding for E. coli attaching and effacing property and heat-labile enterotoxin of EPEC and ETEC, respectively. Due to the presence of these distinct virulence factors, we named this uncommon strain as EPEC/ETEC hybrid. The elt gene was identified in a conjugally transferable plasmid of the EPEC/ETEC hybrid. In addition, several virulence genes in the locus of enterocyte effacement have been identified, which confirms that the EPEC/ETEC has an EPEC genetic background. The hybrid nature of this strain was further confirmed by using tissue culture assays. In the multi locus sequence typing (MLST) analysis, the EPEC/ETEC belonged to the sequence type ST328 and was belonging to ST278 Cplx. Sequence analysis of the plasmid DNA revealed presence of six large contigs with several insertion sequences. A phage integrase gene and the prophages of gp48 and gp49 have been found in the upstream of eltAB. In the downstream of elt, an urovirulence loci adhesion encoding (pap) cluster containing papG, and papC were also identified. Similar to other reports, we have identified a heterogenic virulence in a diarrheagenic E. coli but with different combination of genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sanjucta Dutta
- Division of Bacteriology, National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, Kolkata, India
| | - Gururaja P Pazhani
- Division of Bacteriology, National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, Kolkata, India
| | - James P Nataro
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, Virginia
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Olowe OA, Aboderin BW, Idris OO, Mabayoje VO, Opaleye OO, Adekunle OC, Olowe RA, Akinduti PA, Ojurongbe O. Genotypes and phenotypes of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) in Abeokuta, Southwestern Nigeria. Infect Drug Resist 2014; 7:253-9. [PMID: 25342913 PMCID: PMC4206374 DOI: 10.2147/idr.s66268] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose To characterize the prevalence of hemolytic Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) with a multidrug-resistant pattern in different age groups in Abeokuta, Nigeria. Methods Nonrepetitive E. coli isolates were collected from 202 subjects with or without evidence of diarrhea. Each isolate was biochemically identified and antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed using the disk diffusion method. A sorbitol fermentation test of all the E. coli isolates was done and the minimum inhibitory concentration of suspected STEC was measured by the standard broth microdilution method to determine antibiotic resistance. The genotypes of stx1, stx2, and hlyA were determined by polymerase chain reaction assay. Results The majority of subjects were aged ≥40 years (41.6%) and were female (61.9%). Of the 202 subjects, 86.1% had STEC isolates (P<0.05). A high rate of STEC isolates resistant to amoxicillin (90.6%), cefotaxime (77.7%), and cefuroxime (75.7%) was observed. Resistance to amoxicillin, gentamicin, and cefotaxime was demonstrated with a minimum inhibitory concentration >16 μg/mL in 13.9%, 11.4%, and 10.4% of the isolates, respectively. The prevalence of stx1, stx2, and hlyA was 13.9%, 6.9%, and 2.0%, respectively; 5.5% of stx1 were in the 0–10-year-old age group, 3.5% of stx2 were aged ≥40 and above, and 1.0% of the hlyA isolates were in the 0–10-year-old age group. Conclusion The prevalence of virulent STEC is a public health concern. The use of polymerase chain reaction assay should aid quick detection of this virulent serotype and help curb the severe epidemic of human diseases associated with STEC infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olugbenga Adekunle Olowe
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, College of Health Sciences, Osogbo, Osun State, Nigeria
| | - Bukola W Aboderin
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, College of Health Sciences, Osogbo, Osun State, Nigeria ; Medical Microbiology Unit, Pathology Department, Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta, Nigeria
| | - Olayinka O Idris
- Department of Microbiology, College of Sciences, Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, Nigeria
| | - Victor O Mabayoje
- Department of Haematology, College of Health Sciences, Ladoke Akintola University, Osogbo, Osun State, Nigeria
| | - Oluyinka O Opaleye
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, College of Health Sciences, Osogbo, Osun State, Nigeria
| | - O Catherine Adekunle
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, College of Health Sciences, Osogbo, Osun State, Nigeria
| | - Rita Ayanbolade Olowe
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, College of Health Sciences, Osogbo, Osun State, Nigeria
| | - Paul Akinniyi Akinduti
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, Nigeria
| | - Olusola Ojurongbe
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, College of Health Sciences, Osogbo, Osun State, Nigeria
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Characterization of Shiga-toxin producing E.coli (STEC) and enteropathogenic E.coli (EPEC) using multiplex Real-Time PCR assays for stx1 , stx2 , eaeA. IRANIAN JOURNAL OF MICROBIOLOGY 2014; 6:169-74. [PMID: 25870750 PMCID: PMC4393493] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Diarrheal disease is still a major health problem, especially in developing countries, where it is considered as one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality especially in children. Studies showed that Diarrheagenic E. coli (DEC) such as STES and EPEC strains are among the most prevalent causative agents in acute diarrhea, particularly in children. Aim of the present study was to investigate the presence and the frequency of STEC and EPEC as etiologic agent of diarrhea in children less than 2 years of age with diarrhea in Shiraz. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 285 stool samples were collected from patients with diarrhea in Shiraz, in 2012. Diarrheagenic E. coli (DEC) strains were isolated by standard biochemical analysis. In this study, we used multiplex Real time PCR and single PCR to detect the presence of indicator genes stx1 , stx2 and eaeA for STEC and EPEC strains, respectively. RESULTS A total of 285 stool samples were tested in which 49 (17%) were identified as contaminated with E. coli by biochemical tests. Out of total samples, 15 STEC (31%) and 13 EPEC (27%) were identified using multiplex Real-Time PCR assay. Among STEC isolates, 2 strains were stx1 (+), 8 isolates stx2 (+), 3 isolates were stx1 (+) , stx2 (+) and 2 isolates were stx1 (+) , stx2 (+), eaeA (+). CONCLUSION In this study, we found rather high occurrence of STEC and EPEC virulence genes in children with diarrhea. The results of this study showed that, real time PCR can be used as a replacement for conventional PCR assay in the detecting virulence genes of STEC and EPEC strains. Real-time PCR offers the advantage of being a faster, more robust assay, because it does not require post-PCR procedures to detect amplification products.
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Son I, Binet R, Maounounen-Laasri A, Lin A, Hammack TS, Kase JA. Detection of five Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli genes with multiplex PCR. Food Microbiol 2014; 40:31-40. [DOI: 10.1016/j.fm.2013.11.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2013] [Revised: 11/05/2013] [Accepted: 11/29/2013] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
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Verstraete K, Van Coillie E, Werbrouck H, Van Weyenberg S, Herman L, Del-Favero J, De Rijk P, De Zutter L, Joris MA, Heyndrickx M, De Reu K. A qPCR assay to detect and quantify Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) in cattle and on farms: a potential predictive tool for STEC culture-positive farms. Toxins (Basel) 2014; 6:1201-21. [PMID: 24681714 PMCID: PMC4014729 DOI: 10.3390/toxins6041201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2014] [Revised: 03/03/2014] [Accepted: 03/11/2014] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), of various serogroups harboring the intimin gene, form a serious threat to human health. They are asymptomatically carried by cattle. In this study, a quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) method was developed as a molecular method to detect and quantify Shiga toxin genes stx1 and stx2 and the intimin gene eae. Subsequently, 59 fecal samples from six farms were tested using qPCR and a culture method as a reference. Three farms had contaminated animals as demonstrated by the culture method. Culture-positive farms showed moderate significantly higher stx prevalences than culture-negative farms (p = 0.05). This is the first study which showed preliminary results that qPCR can predict STEC farm contamination, with a specificity of 77% and a sensitivity of 83%, as compared with the culture method. Furthermore, the presence or quantity of stx genes in feces was not correlated to the isolation of STEC from the individual animal. Quantitative data thus did not add value to the results. Finally, the detection of both stx and eae genes within the same fecal sample or farm using qPCR was not correlated with the isolation of an eae-harboring STEC strain from the respective sample or farm using the culture method.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen Verstraete
- Technology and Food Science Unit, Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research (ILVO), Brusselsesteenweg 370, Melle 9090, Belgium.
| | - Els Van Coillie
- Technology and Food Science Unit, Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research (ILVO), Brusselsesteenweg 370, Melle 9090, Belgium.
| | - Hadewig Werbrouck
- Technology and Food Science Unit, Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research (ILVO), Brusselsesteenweg 370, Melle 9090, Belgium.
| | - Stephanie Van Weyenberg
- Technology and Food Science Unit, Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research (ILVO), Brusselsesteenweg 370, Melle 9090, Belgium.
| | - Lieve Herman
- Technology and Food Science Unit, Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research (ILVO), Brusselsesteenweg 370, Melle 9090, Belgium.
| | - Jurgen Del-Favero
- Applied Molecular Genomics Group, Department of Molecular Genetics, Flemish Institute for Biotechnology (VIB), Universiteitsplein 1, Antwerpen 2610, Belgium.
| | - Peter De Rijk
- Applied Molecular Genomics Group, Department of Molecular Genetics, Flemish Institute for Biotechnology (VIB), Universiteitsplein 1, Antwerpen 2610, Belgium.
| | - Lieven De Zutter
- Department of Pathology, Bacteriology and Poultry Diseases, Ghent University, Salisburylaan 133, Merelbeke 9820, Belgium.
| | - Maria-Adelheid Joris
- Department of Pathology, Bacteriology and Poultry Diseases, Ghent University, Salisburylaan 133, Merelbeke 9820, Belgium.
| | - Marc Heyndrickx
- Technology and Food Science Unit, Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research (ILVO), Brusselsesteenweg 370, Melle 9090, Belgium.
| | - Koen De Reu
- Technology and Food Science Unit, Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research (ILVO), Brusselsesteenweg 370, Melle 9090, Belgium.
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Estimating the prevalence of potential enteropathogenic Escherichia coli and intimin gene diversity in a human community by monitoring sanitary sewage. Appl Environ Microbiol 2013; 80:119-27. [PMID: 24141131 DOI: 10.1128/aem.02747-13] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Presently, the understanding of bacterial enteric diseases in the community and their virulence factors relies almost exclusively on clinical disease reporting and examination of clinical pathogen isolates. This study aimed to investigate the feasibility of an alternative approach that monitors potential enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) and enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) prevalence and intimin gene (eae) diversity in a community by directly quantifying and characterizing target virulence genes in the sanitary sewage. The quantitative PCR (qPCR) quantification of the eae, stx1, and stx2 genes in sanitary sewage samples collected over a 13-month period detected eae in all 13 monthly sewage samples at significantly higher abundance (93 to 7,240 calibrator cell equivalents [CCE]/100 ml) than stx1 and stx2, which were detected sporadically. The prevalence level of potential EPEC in the sanitary sewage was estimated by calculating the ratio of eae to uidA, which averaged 1.0% (σ = 0.4%) over the 13-month period. Cloning and sequencing of the eae gene directly from the sewage samples covered the majority of the eae diversity in the sewage and detected 17 unique eae alleles belonging to 14 subtypes. Among them, eae-β2 was identified to be the most prevalent subtype in the sewage, with the highest detection frequency in the clone libraries (41.2%) and within the different sampling months (85.7%). Additionally, sewage and environmental E. coli isolates were also obtained and used to determine the detection frequencies of the virulence genes as well as eae genetic diversity for comparison.
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Occurrence of potentially human-pathogenic Escherichia coli O103 in Norwegian sheep. Appl Environ Microbiol 2013; 79:7502-9. [PMID: 24077709 DOI: 10.1128/aem.01825-13] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The investigation of an outbreak of hemorrhagic-uremic syndrome in Norway in 2006 indicated that the outbreak strain Escherichia coli O103:H25 could originate from sheep. A national survey of the Norwegian sheep population was performed, with the aim of identifying and describing a possible reservoir of potentially human-pathogenic E. coli O103, in particular of the H types 2 and 25. The investigation of fecal samples from 585 sheep flocks resulted in 1,222 E. coli O103 isolates that were analyzed for the presence of eae and stx genes, while a subset of 369 isolates was further examined for flagellar antigens (H typing), stx subtypes, bfpA, astA, and molecular typing by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). The total ovine E. coli O103 serogroup was genetically diverse by numbers of H types, virulotypes, and PFGE banding patterns identified, although a tendency of clustering toward serotypes was seen. The flocks positive for potentially human-pathogenic E. coli O103 were geographically widely distributed, and no association could be found with county or geographical region. The survey showed that eae-negative, stx-negative E. coli O103, probably nonpathogenic to humans, is very common in sheep, with 27.5% of flocks positive. Moreover, the study documented a low prevalence (0.7%) of potentially human-pathogenic Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O103:H2, while STEC O103:H25 was not detected. However, 3.1% and 5.8% of the flocks were positive for enteropathogenic E. coli O103 belonging to H types 2 and 25, respectively. These isolates are of concern as potential human pathogens by themselves but more importantly as possible precursors for human-pathogenic STEC.
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Xue-Han Z, Qing Y, Ya-Dong L, Bin L, Renata I, Kong-Wang H. Development of a LAMP assay for rapid detection of different intimin variants of attaching and effacing microbial pathogens. J Med Microbiol 2013; 62:1665-1672. [PMID: 23893919 DOI: 10.1099/jmm.0.054551-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Intimin harboured by pathogenic Escherichia coli (E. coli) strains is a key virulence factor involved in host cell adherence and colonization. Twenty-seven intimin-encoding E. coli attaching and effacing (eae) gene variants have been reported according to their 3' binding domain sequences. In our study, we developed a specific and sensitive loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay to detect all known intimin variants. Four primers specific for six regions of eae genes were designed using online software. The eae-LAMP assay was highly specific and detected all 27 tested eae variants; no cross-reactions were observed with genes from enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC), E. coli BL21, Salmonella, Shigella, Listeria monocytogenes, or Streptococcus suis type 2 (SS2). With the lowest detection limit of approximately 10 copies per reaction the eae-LAMP assay was 100 times more sensitive than conventional PCR. These results, and the results of tests involving food and faecal samples artificially contaminated with E. coli O157 : H7 (eaeγ+), show that the eae-LAMP assay is a simple, rapid, sensitive and specific tool for detecting intimin variants from pathogenic strains of E. coli. The eae-LAMP assay has great potential for wider applications, not only in the laboratory but also in the field setting, as it does not require specialized equipment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhang Xue-Han
- Institute of Veterinary Medicine, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences; Key Laboratory of Engineering Research of Veterinary Bio-products of Agricultural Ministry; National Center for Engineering Research of Veterinary Bio-products, Nanjing 210014, China
| | - Ye Qing
- Institute of Veterinary Medicine, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences; Key Laboratory of Engineering Research of Veterinary Bio-products of Agricultural Ministry; National Center for Engineering Research of Veterinary Bio-products, Nanjing 210014, China
| | - Liu Ya-Dong
- Nanjing Tech-Bank Bio-industry Co. Ltd, Nanjing 210000, China
| | - Li Bin
- Institute of Veterinary Medicine, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences; Key Laboratory of Engineering Research of Veterinary Bio-products of Agricultural Ministry; National Center for Engineering Research of Veterinary Bio-products, Nanjing 210014, China
| | - Ivanek Renata
- Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA
| | - He Kong-Wang
- Institute of Veterinary Medicine, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences; Key Laboratory of Engineering Research of Veterinary Bio-products of Agricultural Ministry; National Center for Engineering Research of Veterinary Bio-products, Nanjing 210014, China
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Genetic characterization of atypical enteropathogenic Escherichia coli isolates from ewes' milk, sheep farm environments, and humans by multilocus sequence typing and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Appl Environ Microbiol 2013; 79:5864-9. [PMID: 23872571 DOI: 10.1128/aem.01809-13] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
A collection of 81 isolates of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) was obtained from samples of bulk tank sheep milk (62 isolates), ovine feces (4 isolates), sheep farm environment (water, 4 isolates; air, 1 isolate), and human stool samples (9 isolates). The strains were considered atypical EPEC organisms, carrying the eae gene without harboring the pEAF plasmid. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) was carried out with seven housekeeping genes and 19 sequence types (ST) were detected, with none of them having been previously reported for atypical EPEC. The most frequent ST included 41 strains isolated from milk and human stool samples. Genetic typing by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) resulted in 57 patterns which grouped in 24 clusters. Comparison of strains isolated from the different samples showed phylogenetic relationships between milk and human isolates and also between milk and water isolates. The results obtained show a possible risk for humans due to the presence of atypical EPEC in ewes' milk and suggest a transmission route for this emerging pathogen through contaminated water.
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Detection of the emerging Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O26:H11/H- sequence type 29 (ST29) clone in human patients and healthy cattle in Switzerland. Appl Environ Microbiol 2013; 79:5411-3. [PMID: 23811503 DOI: 10.1128/aem.01728-13] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O26:H11/H(-) strains showing the characteristics of the emerging human-pathogenic ST29 clone (stx2a(+) only, eae(+), plasmid gene profile hlyA(+) etpD(+)) were detected from human patients and healthy cattle, indicating a possible reservoir. Sheep also appear to shed strains related to the new pathogenic clone O26:H11/H(-) (ST29, stx1a(+) only, eae(+), plasmid gene profile hlyA(+) etpD(+)).
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Specific properties of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli isolates from diarrheal patients and comparison to strains from foods and fecal specimens from cattle, swine, and healthy carriers in Osaka City, Japan. Appl Environ Microbiol 2012; 79:1232-40. [PMID: 23220963 DOI: 10.1128/aem.03380-12] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
For exhaustive detection of diarrheagenic Escherichia coli, we previously developed a colony-hybridization method using hydrophobic grid-membrane filters in combination with multiplex real-time PCR. To assess the role of domestic animals as the source of atypical enteropathogenic E. coli (aEPEC), a total of 679 samples (333 from foods, fecal samples from 227 domestic animals, and 119 from healthy people) were examined. Combining 48 strains previously isolated from patients and carriers, 159 aEPEC strains were classified by phylogroup, virulence profile, and intimin typing. Phylogroup B1 was significantly more prevalent among aEPEC from patients (50%) and bovine samples (79%) than from healthy carriers (16%) and swine strains (23%), respectively. Intimin type β1 was predominant in phylogroup B1; B1-β1 strains comprised 26% of bovine strains and 25% of patient strains. The virulence profile groups Ia and Ib were also observed more frequently among bovine strains than among porcine strains. Similarly, virulence group Ia was detected more frequently among patient strains than strains of healthy carriers. A total of 85 strains belonged to virulence group I, and 63 of these strains (74%) belonged to phylogroup B1. The present study suggests that the etiologically important aEPEC in diarrheal patients could be distinguished from aEPEC strains indigenous to humans based on type, such as B1, Ia, and β1/γ1, which are shared with bovine strains, while the aEPEC strains in healthy humans are different, and some of these were also present in porcine samples.
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Wasilenko JL, Fratamico PM, Narang N, Tillman GE, Ladely S, Simmons M, Cray WC. Influence of primer sequences and DNA extraction method on detection of non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli in ground beef by real-time PCR targeting the eae, stx, and serogroup-specific genes. J Food Prot 2012; 75:1939-50. [PMID: 23127702 DOI: 10.4315/0362-028x.jfp-12-087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) infections, particularly those caused by the "big six" or "top six" non-O157 serogroups (O26, O45, O103, O111, O121, and O145) can result in severe illness and complications. Because of their significant public health impact and the notable prevalence of STEC in cattle, methods for detection of the big six non-O157 STEC in ground beef have been established. Currently, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service detection methods for screening beef samples for non-O157 STEC target the stx(1), stx(2), and eae virulence genes, with the 16S rRNA gene as an internal control, in a real-time PCR multiplex assay. Further, the serogroup is determined by PCR targeting genes in the E. coli O-antigen gene clusters of the big six non-O157 serogroups. The method that we previously reported was improved so that additional stx variants, stx(1d), stx(2e), and stx(2g), are detected. Additionally, alignments of the primers targeting the eae gene were used to improve the detection assay so that eae subtypes that could potentially be of clinical significance would also be detected. Therefore, evaluation of alternative real-time PCR assay primers and probes for the stx and eae reactions was carried out in order to increase the stx and eae subtypes detected. Furthermore, a Tris-EDTA DNA extraction method was compared with a previously used procedure that was based on a commercially available reagent. The Tris-EDTA DNA extraction method significantly decreased the cycle threshold values for the stx assay (P < 0.0001) and eae assay (P < 0.0001), thereby increasing the ability to detect the targets. The use of different stx primers and probes increased the subtypes detected to include stx(1d), stx(2e), and stx(2g), and sequence data showed that modification of the eae primer should allow the known eae subtypes to be detected.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jamie L Wasilenko
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Eastern Regional Research Center, Wyndmoor, PA 19038, USA
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Ooka T, Seto K, Kawano K, Kobayashi H, Etoh Y, Ichihara S, Kaneko A, Isobe J, Yamaguchi K, Horikawa K, Gomes TAT, Linden A, Bardiau M, Mainil JG, Beutin L, Ogura Y, Hayashi T. Clinical significance of Escherichia albertii. Emerg Infect Dis 2012; 18:488-92. [PMID: 22377117 PMCID: PMC3309589 DOI: 10.3201/eid1803.111401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 120] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Discriminating Escherichia albertii from other Enterobacteriaceae is difficult. Systematic analyses showed that E. albertii represents a substantial portion of strains currently identified as eae-positive Escherichia coli and includes Shiga toxin 2f–producing strains. Because E. albertii possesses the eae gene, many strains might have been misidentified as enterohemorrhagic or enteropathogenic E. coli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tadasuke Ooka
- Division of Bioenvironmental Science, Frontier Science Research Center, University of Miyazaki, Miyazaki, Japan
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Intimin subtyping of atypical enteropathogenic Escherichia coli isolated from children with and without diarrhea: a possible temporal shift in the distribution of intimin alleles. Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis 2012; 74:81-3. [PMID: 22727835 DOI: 10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2012.05.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2012] [Revised: 04/23/2012] [Accepted: 05/16/2012] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Intimins of atypical EPEC strains from children with and without diarrhea were genotyped. κ was not found and β was the most common. η- and ζ-alleles prevailed in strains from children without diarrhea and ι-allele among children older than 13 months. ε-allele emerged in 2006 and was the most common in 2007.
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Huasai S, Chen A, Wang CJ, Li Y, Tongrige B. Occurrence and characteristics of virulence genes of Escherichia coli strains isolated from healthy dairy cows in Inner Mongolia, China. Braz J Microbiol 2012; 43:528-34. [PMID: 24031860 PMCID: PMC3768809 DOI: 10.1590/s1517-83822012000200013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2010] [Revised: 07/13/2011] [Accepted: 01/16/2012] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Virulence genes of Escherichia coli (E. coli) isolates from healthy dairy cows were identified and characterized by a multiplex PCR assay and serogrouping test. The results showed that among the target genes, eaeA was most frequently detected, accounting for 22.11% (67/303) in all strains from 101 cows. For categorization of E. coli, aEPEC was the category with widest distribution detected in 55 (18.15%) strains from 22 cattle. All of 84 PCR-positive strains belonged to 14 O serogroups, and O149 (25.00%) was most common identified, followed by O2 (17.86%), O8 (11.90%) and O103 (9.52%) with relatively high prevalence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simujide Huasai
- College of Animal Science, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University , Hohhot 010018 , P. R. China
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Bai J, Paddock ZD, Shi X, Li S, An B, Nagaraja TG. Applicability of a Multiplex PCR to Detect the Seven Major Shiga Toxin–ProducingEscherichia coliBased on Genes That Code for Serogroup-Specific O-Antigens and Major Virulence Factors in Cattle Feces. Foodborne Pathog Dis 2012; 9:541-8. [DOI: 10.1089/fpd.2011.1082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Jianfa Bai
- Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas
- Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas
| | - Zachary D. Paddock
- Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas
| | - Xiaorong Shi
- Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas
| | - Shubo Li
- Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas
- Liaoning Center for Animal Epidemic Disease Control and Prevention, Shenyang, Liaoning, China
| | - Baoyan An
- Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas
| | - Tiruvoor G. Nagaraja
- Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas
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Hofer E, Stephan R, Reist M, Zweifel C. Application of a real-time PCR-based system for monitoring of O26, O103, O111, O145 and O157 Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli in cattle at slaughter. Zoonoses Public Health 2012; 59:408-15. [PMID: 22348425 DOI: 10.1111/j.1863-2378.2012.01468.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Faecal samples were collected from 573 slaughtered cattle aged between three and 24 months in seven abattoirs. After enrichment (mTSB with novobiocin), samples were screened by real-time PCR first for stx and if positive, tested for the top-five Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) serogroups using PCR assays targeting genes specific for serogroups O26, O103, O111, O145 and O157. Of 563 samples with available results, 74.1% tested positive for stx genes. Amongst them, the serogroups O145, O103, O26, O157 and O111 were detected in 41.9%, 25.9%, 23.9%, 7.8% and 0.8%, respectively. From 95 O26, 166 O145 and 30 O157 PCR-positive samples, 17 O26, 28 O145 and 12 O157 strains were isolated by colony hybridization after immunomagnetic separation. The 17 O26 strains were eae-positive, but only nine strains harboured stx (eight possessing stx1 and one stx2). Of the 28 O145 strains, ten were eae-positive including four harbouring stx1 or stx2, whereas 18 were negative for stx and eae. Five of the 12 O157 strains harboured stx2 and eae, did not ferment sorbitol, and were identified as STEC O157:H7/H⁻. The other seven O157 strains were negative for stx and eae or positive only for eae. Shiga toxin genes and the top-five STEC serogroups were frequently found in young Swiss cattle at slaughter, but success rates for strain isolation were low and only few strains showed a virulence pattern of human pathogenic STEC.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Hofer
- Institute for Food Safety and Hygiene, Vetsuisse Faculty University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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Seropathotypes, Phylogroups, Stx subtypes, and intimin types of wildlife-carried, shiga toxin-producing escherichia coli strains with the same characteristics as human-pathogenic isolates. Appl Environ Microbiol 2012; 78:2578-85. [PMID: 22307301 DOI: 10.1128/aem.07520-11] [Citation(s) in RCA: 85] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The objectives of this study were to investigate the presence of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) strains in wildlife that have spread in Europe, living near human settlements; to analyze their epidemiological role in maintenance and transmission to domestic livestock; and to assess the potential health risk of wildlife-carried strains. STEC strains were recovered from 53% of roe deer, 8.4% of wild boars, and 1.9% of foxes sampled in the northwest of Spain (Galicia). Of the 40 serotypes identified, 21 were classified as seropathotypes associated with human disease, accounting for 81.5% of the wildlife-carried STEC strains, including the enterohemorrhagic serotypes O157:H7-D-eae-γ1, O26:[H11]-B1-eae-β1, O121:H19-B1-eae-ε1, and O145:[H28]-D-eae-γ1. None of the wildlife-carried strains belonged to the highly pathogenic serotype O104:H4-B1 from the recent Germany outbreak. Forty percent of wildlife-carried STEC strains shared serotypes, phylogroups, intimin types, and Stx profiles with isolates from human patients from the same geographic area. Furthermore, wildlife-carried strains belonging to serotypes O5:HNM-A, O26:[H11]-B1, O76:H19-B1, O145:[H28]-D, O146:H21-B1, and O157:H7-D showed pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) profiles with >85% similarity to human-pathogenic STEC strains. We also found a high level of similarity among STEC strains of serotypes O5:HNM-A, O26:[H11]-B1, and O145:HNM-D of bovine (feces and beef) and wildlife origins. Interestingly, O146:H21-B1, the second most frequently detected serotype in this study, is commonly associated with human diarrhea and isolated from beef and vegetables sold in Galicia. Importantly, at least 3 STEC isolates from foxes (O5:HNM-A-eae-β1, O98:[H21]-B1-eae-ζ1, and O146:[H21]-B1) showed characteristics similar to those of human STEC strains. In conclusion, roe deer, wild boar, and fox in Galicia are confirmed to be carriers of STEC strains potentially pathogenic for humans and seem to play an important role in the maintenance of STEC.
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Enteropathogenic (EPEC) and Shigatoxigenic Escherichia coli (STEC) in broiler chickens and derived products at different retail stores. Food Control 2012. [DOI: 10.1016/j.foodcont.2011.07.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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