title: Presence in bovine enteropathogenic (EPEC) and enterohaemorrhagic (EHEC) Escherichia coli of genes encoding for putative adhesins of human EHEC strains.
abstract: Enteropathogenic and enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EPEC and EHEC) infections are characterised by the formation of attaching and effacing lesions on intestinal epithelial cells. The first step of EPEC and EHEC pathogenesis involves the initial adherence of the bacterium to the intestinal epithelium. A collection of bovine EPEC and EHEC strains belonging to different serogroups was tested by colony blot hybridization with gene probes for putative adhesins (BFPA, LPFA, IHA, LIFA) of human EPEC and EHEC, and also for fimbrial and afimbrial adhesins (AFA8, F17, Cs31A) of bovine necrotoxigenic E. coli (NTEC). In the bovine EPEC and EHEC strains tested, sequences homologous to lifA, ihA, and lpfA genes were detected, sometimes in association with particular serogroups. Bovine 026 EPEC also possessed a sequence homologous to a gene of the c/p operon, coding for the CS31A adhesin, associated with bovine NTEC. Overall results showed that different genes encoding for putative adhesins of human EHEC strains are present in bovine EPEC and EHEC strains, but not one of them is present in all strains.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Bacteriology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, Boulevard de Colonster 20/B43, 4000 Liège, Belgium.
authors.forename: Ioan Mihai
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Szalo
authors.forename: Frédéric
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Goffaux
authors.forename: Vinciane
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Pirson
authors.forename: Denis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Piérard
authors.forename: Hywel
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ball
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mainil
mesh_terms: D018830:Adhesins, Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics*; D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle / Q000382:microbiology*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics*; D019453:Escherichia coli O157 / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D018830:Adhesins, Escherichia coli; D004269:DNA, Bacterial