scholarly journals Role for Flagella but Not Intimin in the Persistent Infection of the Gastrointestinal Tissues of Specific-Pathogen-Free Chicks by Shiga Toxin-Negative Escherichia coli O157:H7

2005 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
pp. 1836-1846 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angus Best ◽  
Roberto M. La Ragione ◽  
A. Robin Sayers ◽  
Martin J. Woodward

ABSTRACT Shiga toxin (Stx)-positive Escherichia coli O157:H7 readily colonize and persist in specific-pathogen-free (SPF) chicks, and we have shown that an Stx-negative E. coli O157:H7 isolate (NCTC12900) readily colonizes SPF chicks for up to 169 days after oral inoculation at 1 day of age. However, the role of intimin in the persistent colonization of poultry remains unclear. Thus, to investigate the role of intimin and flagella, which is a known factor in the persistence of non-O157 E. coli in poultry, isogenic single- and double-intimin and aflagellar mutants were constructed in E. coli O157:H7 isolate NCTC12900. These mutants were used to inoculate (105 CFU) 1-day-old SPF chicks. In general, significant attenuation of the aflagellate and intimin-aflagellate mutants, but not the intimin mutant, was noted at similar time points between 22 and 92 days after inoculation. The intimin-deficient mutant was still being shed at the end of the experiment, which was 211 days after inoculation, 84 days more than the wild type. Shedding of the aflagellar and intimin-aflagellar mutants ceased 99 and 113 days after inoculation, respectively. Histological analysis of gastrointestinal tissues from inoculated birds gave no evidence for true microcolony formation by NCTC12900 or intimin and aflagellar mutants to epithelial cells. However, NCTC12900 mutant derivatives associated with the mucosa were observed as individual cells and/or as large aggregates. Association with luminal contents was also noted. These data suggest that O157 organisms do not require intimin for the persistent colonization of chickens, whereas flagella do play a role in this process.

2003 ◽  
Vol 93 (3) ◽  
pp. 207-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angus Best ◽  
Roberto M La Ragione ◽  
William A Cooley ◽  
C.David O’Connor ◽  
Phillipe Velge ◽  
...  

2003 ◽  
Vol 71 (11) ◽  
pp. 6526-6533 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evelyn A. Dean-Nystrom ◽  
Angela R. Melton-Celsa ◽  
Joachim F. L. Pohlenz ◽  
Harley W. Moon ◽  
Alison D. O'Brien

ABSTRACT We compared the pathogenicity of intimin-negative non-O157:H7 Shiga toxin (Stx)-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O91:H21 and O104:H21 strains with the pathogenicity of intimin-positive O157:H7 and O157:H− strains in neonatal pigs. We also examined the role of Stx2d-activatable genes and the large hemolysin-encoding plasmid of O91:H21 strain B2F1 in the pathogenesis of STEC disease in pigs. We found that all E. coli strains that made wild-type levels of Stx caused systemic illness and histological lesions in the brain and intestinal crypts, whereas none of the control Stx-negative E. coli strains evoked comparable central nervous system signs or intestinal lesions. By contrast, the absence of intimin, hemolysin, or motility had little impact on the overall pathogenesis of systemic disease during STEC infection. The most striking differences between pigs inoculated with non-O157 STEC strains and pigs inoculated with O157 STEC strains were the absence of attaching and effacing intestinal lesions in pigs inoculated with non-O157:H7 strains and the apparent association between the level of Stx2d-activatable toxin produced by an STEC strain and the severity of lesions.


2009 ◽  
Vol 89 (2) ◽  
pp. 285-293 ◽  
Author(s):  
S J Bach ◽  
R P Johnson ◽  
K. Stanford ◽  
T A McAllister

Bacteriophage biocontrol has potential as a means of mitigating the prevalence of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in ruminants. The efficacy of oral administration of bacteriophages for reducing fecal shedding of E. coli O157:H7 by sheep was evaluated using 20 Canadian Arcott rams (50.0 ± 3.0) housed in four rooms (n = 5) in a contained facility. The rams had ad libitum access to drinking water and a pelleted barley-based total mixed ration, delivered once daily. Experimental treatments consisted of administration of E. coli O157:H7 (O157), E. coli O157:H7+bacteriophages (O157+phage), bacteriophages (phage), and control (CON). Oral inoculation of the rams with 109 CFU of a mixture of four nalidixic acid-resistant strains of E. coli O157:H7 was performed on day 0. A mixture of 1010 PFU of bacteriophages P5, P8 and P11 was administered on days -2, -1, 0, 6 and 7. Fecal samples collected on 14 occasions over 21 d were analyzed for E. coli O157:H7, total E. coli, total coliforms and bacteriophages. Sheep in treatment O157+phage shed fewer (P < 0.05) E. coli O157:H7 than did sheep in treatment O157. Populations of total coliforms and total E. coli were similar (P < 0.05) among treatments, implying that bacteriophage lysis of non-target E. coli and coliform bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract did not occur. Bacteriophage numbers declined rapidly over 21 d, which likely reduced the chance of collision between bacteria and bacteriophage. Oral administration of bacteriophages reduced shedding of E. coli O157:H7 by sheep, but a delivery system that would protect bacteriophages during passage through the intestine may increase the effectiveness of this strategy as well as allow phage to be administered in the feed.Key words: Escherichia coli O157:H7, bacteriophage, sheep, environment, coliforms


1980 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 1073-1081
Author(s):  
Rodney D. Berg

Escherichia coli C25 maintained population levels of 10 9 to 10 10 per g of cecum and translocated to 100% of the middle mesenteric lymph nodes in gnotobiotic mice monoassociated with E. coli C25. Intragastric inoculation of these mice with the cecal contents from specific-pathogen-free mice reduced the population levels of E. coli C25 to 10 6 per g of cecum and completely inhibited translocation to the mesenteric lymph nodes. Intragastric inoculation with heat-treated, Formalintreated, or filtered cecal contents did not reduce the population levels of E. coli C25 or reduce the incidence of translocation of E. coli C25 to the mesenteric lymph nodes. Thus, viable bacteria apparently are required in the cecal contents inocula to reduce the population levels and the incidence of translocation of E. coli C25. Treatment with streptomycin plus bacitracin decreased the anaerobic bacterial levels in these gnotobiotic mice, allowing increased population levels of E. coli C25 and increased translocation to the mesenteric lymph nodes. E. coli C25 also translocated to the mesenteric lymph nodes of specific-pathogen-free mice treated with streptomycin and bacitracin before colonization with E. coli C25. The high cecal population levels of E. coli C25 in these antibiotic-decontaminated specific-pathogen-free mice apparently overwhelm any barrier to translocation exerted by the immunologically developed lamina propria of the specific-pathogen-free mice. Inoculation of gnotobiotic mice with a cecal flora also reduced the population levels of an indigenous strain of E. coli with a concomitant inhibition of translocation of the indigenous E. coli to the mesenteric lymph nodes. Thus, bacterial antagonism of the gastrointestinal population levels of certain indigenous bacteria, such as E. coli , by other members of the normal bacterial flora appears to be an important defense mechanism confining bacteria to the gastrointestinal tract.


2001 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
KAZUE TAKEUCHI ◽  
JOSEPH F. FRANK

Viability of Escherichia coli O157:H7 cells on lettuce leaves after 200 mg/liter (200 ppm) chlorine treatment and the role of lettuce leaf structures in protecting cells from chlorine inactivation were evaluated by confocal scanning microscopy (CSLM). Lettuce samples (2 by 2 cm) were inoculated by immersing in a suspension containing 109 CFU/ml of E. coli O157: H7 for 24 ± 1 h at 4°C. Rinsed samples were treated with 200 mg/liter (200 ppm) chlorine for 5 min at 22°C. Viability of E. coli O157:H7 cells was evaluated by CSLM observation of samples stained with Sytox green (dead cell stain) and Alexa 594 conjugated antibody against E. coli O157:H7. Quantitative microscopic observations of viability were made at intact leaf surface, stomata, and damaged tissue. Most E. coli O157:H7 cells (68.3 ± 16.2%) that had penetrated 30 to 40 μm from the damaged tissue surface remained viable after chlorine treatment. Cells on the surface survived least (25.2 ± 15.8% survival), while cells that penetrated 0 to 10 μm from the damaged tissue surface or entered stomata showed intermediate survival (50.8 ± 13.5 and 45.6 ± 9.7% survival, respectively). Viability was associated with the depth at which E. coli O157:H7 cells were in the stomata. Although cells on the leaf surface were mostly inactivated, some viable cells were observed in cracks of cuticle and on the trichome. These results demonstrate the importance of lettuce leaf structures in the protection of E. coli O157:H7 cells from chlorine inactivation.


2002 ◽  
Vol 128 (3) ◽  
pp. 357-362 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. FEGAN ◽  
P. DESMARCHELIER

There is very little human disease associated with enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157 in Australia even though these organisms are present in the animal population. A group of Australian isolates of E. coli O157:H7 and O157:H- from human and animal sources were tested for the presence of virulence markers and compared by XbaI DNA macrorestriction analysis using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Each of 102 isolates tested contained the gene eae which encodes the E. coli attaching and effacing factor and all but one carried the enterohaemolysin gene, ehxA, found on the EHEC plasmid. The most common Shiga toxin gene carried was stx2c, either alone (16%) or in combination with stx1 (74%) or stx2 (3%). PFGE grouped the isolates based on H serotype and some clusters were source specific. Australian E. coli O157:H7 and H- isolates from human, animal and meat sources carry all the virulence markers associated with EHEC disease in humans therefore other factors must be responsible for the low rates of human infection in Australia.


2020 ◽  
Vol 152 ◽  
pp. 15667-15675
Author(s):  
Chakirath Folakè Arikè Salifou ◽  
Cyrille Boko ◽  
Isidore Houaga ◽  
Raoul Agossa ◽  
Isabelle Ogbankotan ◽  
...  

Objectives: The study aimed to search for E. coli O157 and non-O157 in milk, meat and faeces of cattle, sheep and pigs slaughtered in Cotonou. Methodology and Results: One hundred and Seventy-Five (175) samples including 25 meat, 25 faeces per species and 25 milk from cattle were analysed for E. coli O157; O26 and O111 and the virulence genes were identified by PCR. The SAS software (1998) and the bilateral Z test were used to calculate and compare the identification frequencies. E. coli O157 was identified in 4% of cattle faeces, 4% of sheep faeces, and 20% of beef and, in 20% of milk samples. E. coli O26 was identified in 12% of cattle faeces and, in 8% of beef samples. E. coli O111 was identified at frequencies of 8%, and 12% in faeces of sheep and pigs, respectively. The eae gene was detected in 4% of beef, ovine meat, milk, pig faeces and in sheep faeces. stx1 was detected in 8% of milk, and in 4% of bovine and sheep faeces. The strains possessing the gene were all of E. coli O157 with the exception of one from pig faeces identified as O111. Conclusions and application of findings: The presence of these serogroups of E. coli with virulence genes poses a real food safety problem in Benin. This study findings must be taken into account for risk assessment and management related to the consumption of food of animal origin. Keywords: Benin, E. coli O157, O26, O111, faeces, meat, milk


2006 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. SCOTT ◽  
P. McGEE ◽  
J. J. SHERIDAN ◽  
B. EARLEY ◽  
N. LEONARD

Escherichia coli O157:H7 is an important foodborne pathogen that can cause hemorrhagic colitis and hemolytic uremic syndrome. Cattle feces and fecally contaminated water are important in the transmission of this organism on the farm. In this study, the survival of E. coli O157:H7 in feces and water was compared following passage through the animal digestive tract or preparation in the laboratory. Feces were collected from steers before and after oral inoculation with a marked strain of E. coli O157:H7. Fecal samples collected before cattle inoculation were subsequently inoculated with the marked strain of E. coli O157:H7 prepared in the laboratory. Subsamples were taken from both animal and laboratory-inoculated feces to inoculate 5-liter volumes of water. E. coli O157:H7 in feces survived up to 97 days, and survival was not affected by the method used to prepare the inoculating strain. E. coli O157:H7 survived up to 109 days in water, and the bacteria collected from inoculated cattle were detected up to 10 weeks longer than the laboratory-prepared culture. This study suggests that pathogen survival in low-nutrient conditions may be enhanced by passage through the gastrointestinal tract.


2009 ◽  
Vol 72 (10) ◽  
pp. 2065-2070 ◽  
Author(s):  
MASASHI KANKI ◽  
KAZUKO SETO ◽  
JUNKO SAKATA ◽  
TETSUYA HARADA ◽  
YUKO KUMEDA

Universal preenrichment broth (UPB) was compared with modified Escherichia coli broth with novobiocin (mEC+n) for enrichment of Shiga toxin–producing E. coli O157 and O26, and with buffered peptone water (BPW) for preenrichment of Salmonella enterica. Ten strains each of the three pathogens were inoculated into beef and radish sprouts following thermal, freezing, or no treatment. With regard to O157 and O26, UPB incubated at 42°C recovered significantly more cells from inoculated beef than UPB at 35°C and from radish sprout samples than UPB at 35°C and mEC+n. With regard to Salmonella, UPB incubated at 42°C was as effective as UPB at 35°C and BPW at recovering cells from beef and radish sprout samples. No significant difference was noted between the effectiveness of UPB at 42°C and UPB at 35°C or BPW in the recovery of Salmonella from 205 naturally contaminated poultry samples. By using UPB at 42°C, one O157:H7 strain was isolated from the mixed offal of 53 beef samples, 6 cattle offal samples, and 50 pork samples all contaminated naturally, with no pathogen inoculation. The present study found that UPB incubated at 42°C was as effective as, or better than, mEC+n for enrichment of O157 and O26 and comparable to BPW for preenrichment of Salmonella. These findings suggest that a great deal of labor, time, samples, and space may be saved if O157, O26, and Salmonella are enriched simultaneously with UPB at 42°C.


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