A total of 514 Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) isolates from diarrheic and healthy cattle in Spain were characterized in this study. PCR showed that 101 (20%) isolates carried stx(1) genes, 278 (54%) possessed stx(2) genes, and 135 (26%) possessed both stx(1) and stx(2). Enterohemolysin (ehxA) and intimin (eae) virulence genes were detected in 326 (63%) and in 151 (29%) of the iso...

We identified the mucus-activatable Shiga toxin genotype stx2d in the most common hemolytic uremic syndrome-associated Escherichia coli serotype, O157:H7. stx2d was detected in a strain isolated from a 2-year-old boy with bloody diarrhea in Spain, and whole-genome sequencing was used to confirm and fully characterize the strain.

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli serotype O117:K1:H7 is a cause of persistent diarrhea in travelers to tropical locations. Whole genome sequencing identified genetic mechanisms involved in the pathoadaptive phenotype. Sequencing also identified toxin and putative adherence genes flanked by sequences indicating horizontal gene transfer from Shigella dysenteriae and Salmonella spp., respect...

Several strains of Escherichia coli that produce relatively large amounts of cytotoxin active on Vero or HeLa cell, termed as verocytotoxin, are recognized as important aetiological agents of diarrhoea in children, particularly in developed countries. Most of these recognized E. coli strains belong to serotype O157:H7. This organism, first isolated in the USA in 1982, has been associated with b...

Shiga-toxigenic Escherichia coli strains belonging to serotype O157 are important human pathogens, but the genetic basis of expression of the O157 antigen and the role played by the lipopolysaccharide O side chain in the adherence of this organism to epithelial cells are not understood. We performed TnphoA mutagenesis on E. coli O157:H7 strain 86-24 to identify a mutant (strain F12) deficient i...

Escherichia coli serotype O157:H7 strain B6914-MS1 is an isolate from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that is missing both Shiga toxin genes and has been used extensively in applied research studies. Here we report the genome sequence of strain B6914-ARS, a B6914-MS1 clone that has unique biofilm properties.

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli serotype O157:H7 is a pathotype of diarrheagenic E. coli that produces one or more Shiga toxins, forms a characteristic histopathology described as attaching and effacing lesions, and possesses the large virulence plasmid pO157. The bacterium is recognized worldwide, especially in developed countries, as an emerging food-borne bacterial pathogen, which causes ...

Multilocus sequence typing of 31 stx-carrying Escherichia coli O26:H11 strains isolated in Canada between 1999 and 2003 revealed a high degree of genetic relatedness at 10 loci, suggesting either that this is a clonal serotype (similar to O157:H7) or that additional genetic loci need to be examined.

First identified in 1982, Escherichia coli O157:H7 is the dominant enterohemorrhagic serotype underlying food-borne human infections in North America. Here, we report the genomes of twenty-six strains derived from patients and the bovine reservoir. These resources enable detailed whole-genome comparisons and permit investigations of genotypic and phenotypic plasticity.

Feedlot cattle were observed for fecal excretion of and rectoanal junction (RAJ) colonization with Escherichia coli O157:H7 to identify potential "supershedders." RAJ colonization and fecal excretion prevalences were correlated, and E. coli O157:H7 prevalences and counts were significantly greater for RAJ samples. Based on a comparison of RAJ and fecal ratios of E. coli O157:H7/E. coli counts, ...