This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Pradel, N.
Right arrow Articles by Livrelli, V.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Pradel, N.
Right arrow Articles by Livrelli, V.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Pradel, N.
Right arrow Articles by Livrelli, V.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, April 2008, p. 2118-2128, Vol. 74, No. 7
0099-2240/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.02688-07
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Molecular Analysis of Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli Strains Isolated from Hemolytic-Uremic Syndrome Patients and Dairy Samples in France{triangledown}

Nathalie Pradel,1 Yolande Bertin,2 Christine Martin,2 and Valérie Livrelli3*

Laboratoire de Bactériologie, UFR Médecine, Université d'Auvergne, Clermont-Ferrand,1 Unité de Microbiologie, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, St.-Genès-Champanelle,2 Groupe de Recherche Pathogénie Bactérienne Intestinale, Faculté de Pharmacie, Université d'Auvergne Clermont-1, Unité Soutenue par l'INRA, Clermont-Ferrand, France3

Received 28 November 2007/ Accepted 22 January 2008

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) has been associated with food-borne diseases ranging from uncomplicated diarrhea to hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS). While most outbreaks are associated with E. coli O157:H7, about half of the sporadic cases may be due to non-O157:H7 serotypes. To assess the pathogenicity of STEC isolated from dairy foods in France, 40 strains isolated from 1,130 raw-milk and cheese samples were compared with 15 STEC strains isolated from patients suffering from severe disease. The presence of genes encoding Shiga toxins (stx1, stx2, and variants), intimin (eae and variants), adhesins (bfp, efa1), enterohemolysin (ehxA), serine protease (espP), and catalase-peroxidase (katP) was determined by PCR and/or hybridization. Plasmid profiling, ribotyping, and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) were used to further compare the strains at the molecular level. A new stx2 variant, stx2-CH013, associated with an O91:H10 clinical isolate was identified. The presence of the stx2, eae, and katP genes, together with a combination of several stx2 variants, was clearly associated with human-pathogenic strains. In contrast, dairy food STEC strains were characterized by a predominance of stx1, with a minority of isolates harboring eae, espP, and/or katP. These associations may help to differentiate less virulent STEC strains from those more likely to cause disease in humans. Only one dairy O5 isolate had a virulence gene panel identical to that of an HUS-associated strain. However, the ribotype and PFGE profiles were not identical. In conclusion, most STEC strains isolated from dairy products in France showed characteristics different from those of strains isolated from patients.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Groupe de Recherche Pathogénie Bactérienne Intestinale, Faculté de Pharmacie, Université d'Auvergne, 28 Place Henri-Dunant, 63 001 Clermont-Ferrand, France. Phone: (33) 473 178 375. Fax: (33) 473 178 371. E-mail: Valerie.Livrelli{at}u-clermont1.fr

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 1 February 2008.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, April 2008, p. 2118-2128, Vol. 74, No. 7
0099-2240/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.02688-07
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Bielaszewska, M., Stoewe, F., Fruth, A., Zhang, W., Prager, R., Brockmeyer, J., Mellmann, A., Karch, H., Friedrich, A. W. (2009). Shiga Toxin, Cytolethal Distending Toxin, and Hemolysin Repertoires in Clinical Escherichia coli O91 Isolates. J. Clin. Microbiol. 47: 2061-2066 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Bielaszewska, M., Prager, R., Vandivinit, L., Musken, A., Mellmann, A., Holt, N. J., Tarr, P. I., Karch, H., Zhang, W. (2009). Detection and Characterization of the Fimbrial sfp Cluster in Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O165:H25/NM Isolates from Humans and Cattle. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 75: 64-71 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Laing, C., Pegg, C., Yawney, D., Ziebell, K., Steele, M., Johnson, R., Thomas, J. E., Taboada, E. N., Zhang, Y., Gannon, V. P. J. (2008). Rapid Determination of Escherichia coli O157:H7 Lineage Types and Molecular Subtypes by Using Comparative Genomic Fingerprinting. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 74: 6606-6615 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»