title: Differentiation of Shiga toxin and Vero cytotoxin type 1 genes by polymerase chain reaction.
abstract: Two sets of synthetic oligonucleotide primers were used in a polymerase chain reaction technique to distinguish genes for Shiga toxin in Shigella dysenteriae 1 and type 1 Vero cytotoxin (VT1) in Escherichia coli. VT1a and VT1b primers directed at a common 130-base-pair (bp) fragment of the stx and sltI genes detected template nucleic acid in both Shiga toxin-positive S. dysenteriae 1 and VT1-producing E. coli strains. VT1c and VT1d primers, targeting a 140-bp fragment of the promoter region of the sltIA gene, were negative in the polymerase chain reaction with S. dysenteriae 1 nucleic acid and positive with nucleic acids from all strains found to produce VT1 in toxin-specific neutralization tests. Primer specificity was determined in the polymerase chain reaction using nucleic acid extracted from 49 strains of representative enteric pathogens defined in terms of their toxigenicity.
authors.affiliation: National Laboratories for Special and Enteric Pathogens, Laboratory Centre for Disease Control, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Pollard
authors.forename: W M
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lior
authors.forename: S D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Tyler
authors.forename: K R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Rozee
mesh_terms: D001427:Bacterial Toxins / Q000235:genetics*; D001483:Base Sequence; D003603:Cytotoxins / Q000235:genetics; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D004768:Enterotoxins / Q000235:genetics; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D015345:Oligonucleotide Probes; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D022622:Shiga Toxin 1; D022603:Shiga Toxins; D012762:Shigella dysenteriae / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D003603:Cytotoxins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004768:Enterotoxins; D015345:Oligonucleotide Probes; D022622:Shiga Toxin 1; D022603:Shiga Toxins