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Certain Escherichia coli (E. coli) strains have the ability to cause diarrheal disease. Five types of diarrheagenic E. coli have been identified, including EHEC, ETEC, EPEC, EAEC, and EIEC. To detect these five diarrheagenic types rapidly, we developed a one-step multiplex PCR (MPPCR) assay using nine primer pairs to amplify nine virulence genes specific to the different virotypes, with each group being represented (i.e., stx1 and stx2 for EHEC, lt, sth, and stp for ETEC, eaeA and bfpA for EPEC, aggR for EAEC, and ipaH for EIEC). The PCR primers were constructed using MultAlin. The sensitivity and specificity of the constructed multiplex PCR primers were measured using DNA isolated from diarrheagenic E. coli strains representing each group. The limits of detection were as follows: 5 × 10(1) CFU/ml for EHEC, 5 × 10(3) CFU/ml for ETEC expressing lt and sth, 5 × 10(4) CFU/ml for ETEC expressing stp, 5 × 102 CFU/ml for EPEC, 5 × 10(4) CFU/ml for EAEC, and 5 × 10(2) CFU/ml for EIEC. To confirm the specificity, C. jejuni, C. perfringens, S. Typhimurium, V. parahaemolyticus, L. monocytogenes, Y. enterocolitica, B. cereus, and S. aureus were used as negative controls, and no amplification was obtained for these. Moreover, this kit was validated using 100 fecal samples from patients with diarrhea and 150 diarrheagenic E. coli strains isolated in Korea. In conclusion, the multiplex PCR assay developed in this study is very useful for the rapid and specific detection of five diarrheagenic E. coli types. This single-step assay will be useful as a rapid and economical method, as it reduces the cost and time required for the identification of diarrheagenic E. coli.

Quorum sensing and the stringent response are well-known regulation systems for the expression of virulence genes in enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC). However, how these two systems interact is not well known. E. coli strains with mutations in two regulation systems, ΔluxS (ECM101) and ΔluxSΔrelAΔspoT (ECM201), and the ΔluxS complement strain to ECM201 (ECM202) were created from EHEC O157:H7 EDL933 to investigate how the regulatory systems interact. The phenotypic changes of the mutant strains were characterized and compared with the wild type. The mutant strains exhibited no obvious growth defects, although acid resistance and cellular cytotoxicity were decreased significantly in all the mutant strains. Phenotypic characterization revealed that mutations in the stringent response system (ECM201 and ECM202) influenced the metabolic (defective utilization of arabinose and L-sorbose) and enzymatic activities (decreased trypsin activity, and increased α-glucosidase activity). In contrast, the quorum sensing system mutant (ECM101) did not display these phenotypes. The motility of the quorum sensing system mutant (ECM101) was unchanged, but mutation in the stringent response system influenced the motility. Our results suggest that quorum sensing interacts with the stringent response regulation system.

Seventy-four Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) isolates belonging to the serotype O91:H21 were isolated from 1,643 asymptomatic human carriers in a STEC outbreak at Gwangju in Korea. Although the isolates did not cause any symptoms, all of them produced Shiga toxins 1 (Stx1) and 2 (Stx2). In order to determine why these strains cause no symptoms, we explored the differences in virulence potential between the asymptomatic STEC O91:H21 isolates and symptomatic STEC O91:H21 strains (ATCC 51435 and ATCC 51434). The asymptomatic STEC O91:H21 isolates showed strongly reduced cytopathic effects compared with the symptomatic strains when intact bacterial cells were used as an inoculant. Moreover, we found a reduced adherence phenotype when testing asymptomatic strains on HeLa cells. Real-time quantitative PCR results suggest that transcriptional repression of the genes encoding type-1 fimbriae occurs in the asymptomatic isolates but not in the symptomatic strains.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the global regulatory mechanism known as quorum sensing and expression of virulence factors in Escherichia coli O157:H7. A non-polar luxS deletion was introduced into the chromosome of strain CI03J, a human clinical isolate from South Korea, to create the DeltaluxS mutant strain ML03J. Phenotypic characterization of wild-type and mutant strains demonstrated that ML03J had no obvious growth or metabolic defects on 0.2% glucose LB medium, produced a functionally-defective flagellum, and could not utilize sorbose; the biological significance of sorbose utilization is unknown. Omics-based analysis revealed the involvement of LuxS in the transcriptional activation of several flagella/chemotaxis-related genes (flhD; fliA, C, D, S, Z; cheA, Y, and Z), repression of glutamate-dependent acid resistance genes (gadAB), and expression of virulence factors including Shiga toxin, hemolysin, and SepD within the LEE pathogenicity island.

To characterize the extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) in diarrheagenic Escherichia coli from Korea in 2008-2011, we screened seven enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC) and one enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC) that produce ESBLs from a nationwide survey. All eight isolates produced CTX-M-type ESBLs, including CTX-M-12 (n = 4), CTX-M-14 (n = 2), and CTX-M-15 (n = 2). PCR-based replicon typing indicated that the blaCTX-M-12 genes of four ETEC isolates were carried on a conjugative IncF plasmid, whereas the blaCTX-M-14 of one EAEC was located on an IncK plasmid. This is the first report of the occurrence of blaCTX-M genes in clinical isolates of EAEC in Korea. The ESBL-producing isolates were shown to be different based on pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and multilocus sequence typing, whereas the four isolates with CTX-M-12 were clonally related. These observations raise an alarm for the spread of plasmid-mediated resistance to ESBL among diarrheagenic E. coli.