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Development of a multiplex PCR assay for detection of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli, enterohemorrhagic E. coli, and enteropathogenic E. coli strains.

ABSTRACT: Escherichia coli O157:H7 and other pathogenic E. coli strains are enteric pathogens associated with food safety threats and which remain a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. In the current study, we investigated whether enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC), Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), and enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) strains can be rapidly and specifically differentiated with multiplex PCR (mPCR) utilizing selected biomarkers associated with each strain's respective virulence genotype. Primers were designed to amplify multiple intimin (eae) and long polar fimbriae (lpfA) variants, the bundle-forming pilus gene bfpA, and the Shiga toxin-encoding genes stx1 and stx2. We demonstrated consistent amplification of genes specific to the prototype EHEC O157:H7 EDL933 (lpfA1-3, lpfA2-2, stx1, stx2, and eae-?) and EPEC O127:H6 E2348/69 (eae-?, lpfA1-1, and bfpA) strains using the optimized mPCR protocol with purified genomic DNA (gDNA). A screen of gDNA from isolates in a diarrheagenic E. coli collection revealed that the mPCR assay was successful in predicting the correct pathotype of EPEC and EHEC clones grouped in the distinctive phylogenetic disease clusters EPEC1 and EHEC1, and was able to differentiate EHEC1 from EHEC2 clusters. The assay detection threshold was 2?×?10(4)?CFU per PCR reaction for EHEC and EPEC. mPCR was also used to screen Argentinean clinical samples from hemolytic uremic syndrome and diarrheal patients, resulting in 91% sensitivity and 84% specificity when compared to established molecular diagnostic procedures. In conclusion, our mPCR methodology permitted differentiation of EPEC, STEC and EHEC strains from other pathogenic E. coli; therefore, the assay becomes an additional tool for rapid diagnosis of these organisms.

SUBMITTER: Botkin DJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3417533 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Development of a multiplex PCR assay for detection of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli, enterohemorrhagic E. coli, and enteropathogenic E. coli strains.

Botkin Douglas J DJ Galli Lucía L Sankarapani Vinoth V Soler Michael M Rivas Marta M Torres Alfredo G AG

Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology 20120214

Escherichia coli O157:H7 and other pathogenic E. coli strains are enteric pathogens associated with food safety threats and which remain a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. In the current study, we investigated whether enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC), Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), and enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) strains can be rapidly and specifically differentiated with multiplex PCR (mPCR) utilizing selected biomarkers associated with each strain's respective ...[more]

PMID: 22919600

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Project description:Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O26 is one of the top five enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) O groups most often associated with hemorrhagic colitis and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) worldwide. STEC O26 is considered to have evolved from enteropathogenic (EPEC) O26 strains through the acquisition of Shiga toxin (Stx)-encoding genes. Our PCR data identified several STEC-like strains expressing all features of STEC except Stx production and carrying remnants of Stx phages that were probably derivatives of EHEC O26. EHEC and EPEC O26 strains phenotypically resemble O26 EHEC-like and apathogenic E. coli O26 strains and are therefore undistinguishable by cultural methods. A clear discrimination between the different O26 groups is required for diagnostics in patients and for control of food safety. To develop an assay for specific detection of EHEC and EHEC-like O26 strains, we used a high-throughput PCR approach for selection of discriminative genetic markers among 33 tested genes mostly encoding type III secretion system effector proteins. The genes ECs1822, nleH1-2, nleA, nleC, nleH1-1, nleG, nleG2, nleG6-1, nleG6-2, espJ, espM2, nleG8-2, espG, ent (or espL2), nleB, nleE, efa1, and espB were detected at different frequencies in O26 EHEC, EHEC-like, and EPEC strains, indicating the possible role of these genes in virulence of human pathogenic O26 strains. The espK and espN genes were detected only in EHEC and EHEC-like O26 strains. espK was present in 99.14% of EHEC and 91.14% of EHEC-like O26 strains and was hence the best candidate as a genetic marker for characterizing these pathogroups. These data were corroborated by a genotyping real-time PCR test based on allelic discrimination of the arcA (aerobic respiratory control protein A) gene. The results indicate that a combination of molecular detection tools for O26 wzx (wzx(O26)), eae-beta, stx, espK, and arcA genotyping is highly discriminative for clear identification of EHEC and EHEC-like E. coli O26 strains. This simple diagnostic test might be applicable in hospital service laboratories or public health laboratories to test strains isolated from stools of patients suffering from diarrhea.

Dataset Information

Development of a multiplex PCR assay for detection of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli, enterohemorrhagic E. coli, and enteropathogenic E. coli strains.

Publications

Development of a multiplex PCR assay for detection of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli, enterohemorrhagic E. coli, and enteropathogenic E. coli strains.

Similar Datasets

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