J Vet Sci.  2018 Mar;19(2):251-259. 10.4142/jvs.2018.19.2.251.

Pathogenic and phylogenetic characteristics of non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli isolates from retail meats in South Korea

• Lee JB
• Han D
• Lee HT
• Wi SM
• Park JH
• Jo JW
• Cho YJ
• Hahn TW
• Lee S
• Kang B
• Kwak HS
• Kim J
• Yoon JW

• KMID: 2407624
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4142/jvs.2018.19.2.251

Abstract

Herein, we report the pathogenic and phylogenetic characteristics of seven Shiga toxin (Stx)-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) isolates from 434 retail meats collected in Korea during 2006 to 2012. The experimental analyses revealed that all isolates (i) were identified as non-O157 STEC, including O91:H14 (3 isolates), O121:H10 (2 isolates), O91:H21 (1 isolate), and O18:H20 (1 isolate), (ii) carried diverse Stx subtype genes (stx₁, stx(2c), stx(2e), or stx₁+ stx(2b)) whose expression levels varied strain by strain, and (iii) lacked the locus of enterocyte effacement (LEE) pathogenicity island, a major virulence factor of STEC, but they possessed one or more alternative virulence genes encoding cytotoxins (Cdt and SubAB) and/or adhesins (Saa, Iha, and EcpA). Notably, a significant heterogeneity in glutamate-induced acid resistance was observed among the STEC isolates (p < 0.05). In addition, phylogenetic analyses demonstrated that all three STEC O91:H14 isolates were categorized into sequence type (ST) 33, of which two beef isolates were identical in their pulsotypes. Similar results were observed with two O121:H10 pork isolates (ST641; 88.2% similarity). Interestingly, 96.0% of the 100 human STEC isolates collected in Korea during 2003 to 2014 were serotyped as O91:H14, and the ST33 lineage was confirmed in approximately 72.2% (13/18 isolates) of human STEC O91:H14 isolates from diarrheal patients.

Keyword

Korea; Shiga-toxigenic Escherichia coli; retail meat; sequence type; virulence factors

MeSH Terms

Cytotoxins
Enterocytes
Escherichia coli
Genomic Islands
Humans
Korea*
Meat*
Population Characteristics
Red Meat
Shiga Toxin
Shiga-Toxigenic Escherichia coli*
Virulence
Virulence Factors
Cytotoxins
Shiga Toxin
Virulence Factors

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Acid resistance phenotypes of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli isolates. (A) The RNA polymerase sigma factor (RpoS)-induced acid resistance (AR) phenotypes (AR1; upper panel) and western blotting with anti-RpoS antibody (lower panel). (B) The glutamate-induced AR phenotypes (AR2; upper panel) and western blotting with ant-GadA (glutamic acid deoxycarboxylase A) antibody. Lane 1, EDL933; lane 2, 85-170; lane 3, B2006-11; lane 4, B2006-29; lane 5, B2007-75; lane 6, B2007-76; lane 7, P2010-19; lane 8, P2010-23; and lane 9, P2010-29. Significantly different from EDL933 (**p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001).

• 

  Fig. 2 Phylogenetic relatedness of the Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) isolates. All isolates were analyzed by both multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and pulsed-field gel electrophoretic (PFGE) as described in the Materials and Methods section.

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  Fig. 3 Phylogenetic tree showing the sequence types of 17 Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O91:H14 isolates from 13 human diarrheal patients, 1 asymptomatic carrier, and 3 retail meats. ST442 and ST11 are contained as distinct groups. All of the indicated STEC O91:H14 isolates were analyzed by multilocus sequence typing (MLST) to assign their sequence type (see Materials and Methods section).

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