title: Sequence of the Escherichia coli O26 O antigen gene cluster and identification of O26 specific genes.
abstract: Escherichia coli associated with outbreaks of gastroenteritis and hemolytic uremic syndrome include clones with O antigens O157 and O111. However, O26 has emerged as an O antigen present in pathogenic strains, particularly those implicated in cases of infantile gastroenteritis worldwide. The O26 O antigen gene cluster was sequenced. It was found to contain the genes expected for biosynthesis of nucleotide sugars L-rhamnose, N-acetyl-L-fucosamine and N-acetyl-glucosamine, as well genes for O unit flippase, O antigen polymerase and potential transferase genes. By polymerase chain reaction testing against representative strains for the 166 Escherichia coli O serogroups and some randomly selected Gram-negative bacteria, we identified three O antigen genes that are highly specific to O26. This work provides the basis for a sensitive test for the rapid detection of pathogenic clones with the O26 antigen, which has implications for public health, especially in the control of food-borne outbreaks.
authors.affiliation: Department Of Microbiology, School of Molecular and Microbial Biosciences (G08), University Of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
authors.forename: Jocelyne M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: D'Souza
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Reeves
mesh_terms: D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics*; D005798:Genes, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family / Q000235:genetics*; D019081:O Antigens / Q000235:genetics*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D014166:Transferases / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D019081:O Antigens; D014166:Transferases