Clonal structure and pathogenicity of Shiga-like toxin-producing, sorbitol-fermenting Escherichia coli O157:H-.
We compared a collection of sorbitol-fermenting (SF) Escherichia coli O157:H- strains with SF E. coli O157:H45 and non-SF E. coli O157:H7 and E. coli O157:H- strains by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. The SF E. coli O157:H- strains had identical or closely related XbaI patterns that differed markedly from those for the other E. coli O157 strains. Plasmid content and the presence of Shiga-like toxin-converting phages were determined for the SF E. coli O157:H- strains, indicating that these strains harbor a single 90-kb plasmid. They are lysogenized by toxin-converting phages and harbor the eae gene. Nonmotile E. coli O157 strains were observed to adhere more efficiently to HEp-2 cells than the motile strains. From their phenotypic and genotypic features, the SF E. coli O157:H- strains may well represent a new clone with non-SF E. coli O157:H7 pathogenic characteristics.
Institut für Hygiene und Mikrobiologie, Universität Würzburg, Germany.
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H
Karch
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Böhm
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H
Schmidt
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F
Gunzer
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Aleksic
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J
Heesemann
D001422:Bacterial Adhesion; D001427:Bacterial Toxins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D001483:Base Sequence; D003090:Coliphages / Q000302:isolation & purification; D015342:DNA Probes; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D004927:Escherichia coli Infections / Q000382:microbiology; D005285:Fermentation; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010641:Phenotype; D010957:Plasmids; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D022641:Shiga Toxin 2; D013012:Sorbitol / Q000378:metabolism
D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D015342:DNA Probes; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D022641:Shiga Toxin 2; D013012:Sorbitol