Carriage of stx2a differentiates clinical and bovine-biased strains of Escherichia coli O157.
<h4>Background</h4>Shiga toxin (Stx) are cardinal virulence factors of enterohemorrhagic E. coli O157:H7 (EHEC O157). The gene content and genomic insertion sites of Stx-associated bacteriophages differentiate clinical genotypes of EHEC O157 (CG, typical of clinical isolates) from bovine...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2012-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0051572&type=printable |
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| Summary: | <h4>Background</h4>Shiga toxin (Stx) are cardinal virulence factors of enterohemorrhagic E. coli O157:H7 (EHEC O157). The gene content and genomic insertion sites of Stx-associated bacteriophages differentiate clinical genotypes of EHEC O157 (CG, typical of clinical isolates) from bovine-biased genotypes (BBG, rarely identified among clinical isolates). This project was designed to identify bacteriophage-mediated differences that may affect the virulence of CG and BBG.<h4>Methods</h4>Stx-associated bacteriophage differences were identified by whole genome optical scans and characterized among >400 EHEC O157 clinical and cattle isolates by PCR.<h4>Results</h4>Optical restriction maps of BBG strains consistently differed from those of CG strains only in the chromosomal insertion sites of Stx2-associated bacteriophages. Multiplex PCRs (stx1, stx2a, and stx2c as well as Stx-associated bacteriophage-chromosomal insertion site junctions) revealed four CG and three BBG that accounted for >90% of isolates. All BBG contained stx2c and Stx2c-associated bacteriophage-sbcB junctions. All CG contained stx2a and Stx2a-associated bacteriophage junctions in wrbA or argW.<h4>Conclusions</h4>Presence or absence of stx2a (or another product encoded by the Stx2a-associated bacteriophage) is a parsimonious explanation for differential virulence of BBG and CG, as reflected in the distributions of these genotypes in humans and in the cattle reservoir. |
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| ISSN: | 1932-6203 |