title: Metabolism of phenylpropionic acid in enteropathogenic Escherichia coli belonging to serogroup O111 and its application for diagnosis.
abstract: We evaluated a biochemical assay based on the ability to metabolise beta-phenylpropionic acid (PPA) as a diagnostic aid in the identification of typical enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) strains. A total of 1061 E. coli strains of serogroups O55, O111, and O119 were initially characterised regarding their H types (serotypes) and the presence of EPEC DNA sequences, eae, EAF, and bfpA. In case of the serogroup O111 strains, 84.6% carried the typical EPEC markers, and the great majority of those (98.1%) were PPA-positive. In contrast, only 0.9% of the serogroups O55 and O119 strains carrying the typical EPEC markers (53.6% and 75.4%, respectively) were PPA-positive. We conclude that the PPA test is a useful method to detect typical EPEC strains only among strains of the O111 serogroup.
authors.affiliation: Seção de Bacteriologia, Institute Adolpho Lutz, Av Dr Arnaldo, 351, CEP 01246-902, São Paulo, Brazil. ikinue@hotmail.com
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Irino
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Dias
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kano
authors.forename: T M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Vaz
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Gonçalves
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Vieira
authors.forename: T A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Gomes
mesh_terms: D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques / Q000379:methods; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D004927:Escherichia coli Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D010666:Phenylpropionates / Q000378:metabolism*; D012703:Serotyping; D014774:Virulence / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D010666:Phenylpropionates; C035253:3-phenylpropionic acid