Molecular serotyping of diarrheagenic <i>Escherichia coli</i> with a MeltArray assay reveals distinct correlation between serotype and pathotype.

ABSTRACT: Diarrheagenic Escherichia coli serotypes are associated with various clinical syndromes, yet the precise correlation between serotype and pathotype remains unclear. A major barrier to such studies is the reliance on antisera-based serotyping, which is culture-dependent, low-throughput, and cost-ineffective. We have established a highly multiplex PCR-based serotyping assay, termed the MeltArray E. coli serotyping (EST) assay, capable of identifying 163 O-antigen-encoding genes and 53 H-antigen-encoding genes of E. coli. The assay successfully identified serotypes directly from both simulated and real fecal samples, as demonstrated through spike-in validation experiments and a retrospective study. In a multi-province study involving 637 E. coli strains, it

SUBMITTER: Du C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11529414 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan-Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature