Bacteriophage vB_EcoM_112 (formerly e11/2) is an Escherichia coli phage with specificity for the O157:H7 serotype. The vB_EcoM_112 genome sequence shares high degrees of similarity with the phage T4 genome sequence.

A bacteriophage, EC6, capable of lysing Escherichia coli serotype O157:H7 was isolated and found to be a member of the family Myoviridae. The genomic sequence of phage EC6 was composed of 86,231 bp with a G+C content of 38.9% and is very similar to the sequences of Escherichia phage wV8 and Salmonella phage Felix O1.

A lthough Escherichia coli is a prototypic commensal bacterial species of the mammalian intestine and a laboratory workhorse for molecular biology, certain strains of this species are capable of causing significant human disease. The spectrum of disease caused by E. coli includes enteric/diarrheal disease, urinary tract infections, renal failure, and sepsis/meningitis (1). The different pathoty...

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) are zoonotic enteric pathogens associated with human gastroenteritis worldwide. Cattle and small ruminants are important animal reservoirs of STEC. The present study investigated animal reservoirs for STEC in small rural farms in the Culiacan Valley, an important agricultural region located in Northwest Mexico. A total of 240 fecal samples from dome...

Shiga toxin (Stx)-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) cause sporadic or epidemic food- or water-borne illness whose clinical spectrum includes diarrhea, hemorrhagic colitis, and the potentially fatal hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). Over 200 STEC serotypes have now been implicated in human disease. Serotype O157:H7 is associated most outbreaks and most cases of HUS. Other serotypes are also assoc...

Escherichia coli EDL933 is the prototypic strain for enterohemorrhagic E. coli serotype O157:H7, associated with deadly food-borne outbreaks. Because the publicly available sequence of the EDL933 genome has gaps and >6,000 ambiguous base calls, we here present an updated high-quality, unambiguous genome sequence with no assembly gaps.

High variability in the expression of csgD-dependent, biofilm-forming and adhesive properties is common among Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli. Although many strains of serotype O157:H7 form little biofilm, conversion to stronger biofilm phenotypes has been observed. In this study, we screened different strains of serotype O157:H7 for the emergence of strong Congo-red (CR) affinity/biofil...

Escherichia coli serotype O157:H7 was only recognized as a human pathogen a little more than a decade ago, yet it has become a major foodborne pathogen. In the United States, the severity of serotype O157:H7 infections in the young and the elderly has had a tremendous impact on human health, the food industry, and federal regulations regarding food safety. The implication of acidic foods as veh...

The biofilm life style helps bacteria resist oxidative stress, desiccation, antibiotic treatment, and starvation. Biofilm formation involves a complex regulatory gene network controlled by various environmental signals. It was previously shown that prophage insertions in mlrA and heterogeneous mutations in rpoS constituted major obstacles limiting biofilm formation and the expression of extrace...

  Escheric hia coli O157:H7 lives in the intestines of healthy cattle, and can contaminate meat during slaughtering pr actices . Detection of the low infectious dosage of bacterium requires a sensitive method. We developed polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays to detect the gene Stx2 irrespective of the bacterial serotype. In this study, the detection limit of the PCR protocol in detecting Stx...