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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, January 2009, p. 64-71, Vol. 75, No. 1
0099-2240/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.01815-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Detection and Characterization of the Fimbrial sfp Cluster in Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O165:H25/NM Isolates from Humans and Cattle {triangledown}

Martina Bielaszewska,1* Rita Prager,2 Liz Vandivinit,1 Anne Müsken,1 Alexander Mellmann,1 Nicholas J. Holt,3 Phillip I. Tarr,3 Helge Karch,1 and Wenlan Zhang1

Institute of Hygiene and the National Consulting Laboratory on Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome, University of Münster, Robert Koch Str. 41, 48149 Münster, Germany,1 National Reference Center for Salmonella and Other Enteric Pathogens, Robert Koch Institute, Branch Wernigerode, Burgstr. 37, 38855 Wernigerode, Germany,2 Department of Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri3

Received 6 August 2008/ Accepted 18 October 2008

The sfp cluster, encoding Sfp fimbriae and located in the large plasmid of sorbitol-fermenting (SF) enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) O157 (pSFO157), has been considered a unique characteristic of this organism. We discovered and then characterized the sfp cluster in EHEC O165:H25/NM (nonmotile) isolates of human and bovine origin. All seven strains investigated harbored a complete sfp cluster (carrying sfpA, sfpH, sfpC, sfpD, sfpJ, sfpF, and sfpG) of 6,838 bp with >99% nucleotide sequence homology to the sfp cluster of SF EHEC O157:NM. The sfp cluster in EHEC O165:H25/NM strains was located in an ~80-kb (six strains) or ~120-kb (one strain) plasmid which differed in structure, virulence genes, and sfp flanks from pSFO157. All O165:H25/NM strains belonged to the same multilocus sequence type (ST119) and were only distantly phylogenetically related to SF EHEC O157:NM (ST11). The highly conserved sfp cluster in different clonal backgrounds suggests that this segment was acquired independently by EHEC O165:H25 and SF EHEC O157:NM. Its presence in an additional EHEC serotype extends the diagnostic utility of PCR targeting sfpA as an easy and efficient approach to seek EHEC in patients' stools. The reasons for the convergence of pathogenic EHEC strains on a suite of virulence loci remain unknown.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Institut für Hygiene, Universität Münster, Robert-Koch-Str. 41, 48149 Münster, Germany. Phone: 49-251-980 2849. Fax: 49-251-980 2868. E-mail: mbiela{at}uni-muenster.de

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 31 October 2008.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, January 2009, p. 64-71, Vol. 75, No. 1
0099-2240/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.01815-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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