Molecular subtyping and genetic analysis of the enterohemolysin gene (ehxA) from Shiga toxin-producing escherichia coli and atypical enteropathogenic E. coli.

ABSTRACT: Analyses of the distribution of virulence factors among different Escherichia coli pathotypes, including Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), may provide some insight into the mechanisms by which different E. coli strains cause disease and the evolution of distinct E. coli types. The aim of this study was to examine the DNA sequence of the gene for enterohemolysin, a plasmid-encoded toxin that readily causes the hemolysis of washed sheep erythrocytes, and to assess the distribution of enterohemolysin subtypes among E. coli isolates from various human and animal sources. The 2,997-bp ehxA gene was amplified from 227 (63.8%) of 356 stx- and/or eae-positive E. coli strains isolated from cattle and sheep and from 24 (96.0%) of 25 STEC strains isolated from humans with diarrheal disease. By us

SUBMITTER: Cookson AL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2075064 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature