HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by FÜRST, S. Articles by KARCH, H. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by FÜRST, S. Articles by KARCH, H. Agricola Articles by FÜRST, S. Articles by KARCH, H.

Identification and characterisation of Escherichia coli strains of O157 and non-O157 serogroups containing three distinct Shiga toxin genes

SABINE FÜRST, JÜRGEN SCHEEF, MARTINA BIELASZEWSKA^*, HOLGER RÜSSMANN, HERBERT SCHMIDT and HELGE KARCH

Institut für Hygiene und Mikrobiologie der Universität Würzburg, Josef-Schneider-Str. 2, 97080 Würzburg, Germany, *Institute of Medical Microbiology, 2nd Medical Faculty, Charles University, 150 06 Prague, Czech Republic and Max von Pettenkofer-Institut für Hygiene und Mikrobiologie der Ludwig Maximilians Universität München, Pettenkoferstraße 9a, 80336 München, Germany

Corresponding author: Dr H. Karch (e-mail: hkarch@ hygiene.uni-wuerzburg.de).

Received 1 June 1999; revised version accepted 6 Sept. 1999.

Abstract

Three Shiga toxin (Stx)-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) strains from patients with diarrhoea were identified, each of which contained three distinct stx genes (stx₁, stx₂ and stx_2c). The strains belonged to the serotypes O52:H19, O75:H^- and O157:H^- and harboured eae and EHEC-hly sequences. Colony-blot immunoassay was used to demonstrate that both major types of Stx were expressed. The association of stx genes with either phage or phage DNA was demonstrated in all three strains. Isolated phage DNA from all strains contained stx₁ sequences, but stx₂ sequences were found only in phage DNA of two of these strains. The presence of three distinct stx genes may enhance the virulence of STEC strains and should be monitored. The observations demonstrate not only the potential of stx genes to spread within different serotypes, but also their capacity to accumulate within a single strain.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				R. Serra-Moreno, J. Jofre, and M. Muniesa The CI Repressors of Shiga Toxin-Converting Prophages Are Involved in Coinfection of Escherichia coli Strains, Which Causes a Down Regulation in the Production of Shiga Toxin 2 J. Bacteriol., July 1, 2008; 190(13): 4722 - 4735. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. K. Hajra, P. K. Bag, S. C. Das, S. Mukherjee, A. Khan, and T. Ramamurthy Development of a Simple Latex Agglutination Assay for Detection of Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli (STEC) by Using Polyclonal Antibody against STEC Clin. Vaccine Immunol., May 1, 2007; 14(5): 600 - 604. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Eklund, K. Leino, and A. Siitonen Clinical Escherichia coli Strains Carrying stx Genes: stx Variants and stx-Positive Virulence Profiles J. Clin. Microbiol., December 1, 2002; 40(12): 4585 - 4593. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. Karch and M. Bielaszewska Sorbitol-Fermenting Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli O157:H{-} Strains: Epidemiology, Phenotypic and Molecular Characteristics, and Microbiological Diagnosis J. Clin. Microbiol., June 1, 2001; 39(6): 2043 - 2049. [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Muniesa, J. Recktenwald, M. Bielaszewska, H. Karch, and H. Schmidt Characterization of a Shiga Toxin 2e-Converting Bacteriophage from an Escherichia coli Strain of Human Origin Infect. Immun., September 1, 2000; 68(9): 4850 - 4855. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]