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Cergole-Novella MC, Enne VI, Pignatari ACC, Carvalho E, Guth BEC. Acquisition of plasmids from Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli strains had low or neutral fitness cost on commensal E. coli. Braz J Microbiol 2024; 55:1297-1304. [PMID: 38396221 PMCID: PMC11153473 DOI: 10.1007/s42770-024-01269-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2023] [Accepted: 02/01/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Although it has been hypothesized that the acquisition of plasmids-especially those bearing virulence factors and antimicrobial resistance genes-increases the energetic burden and reduces the fitness of a bacterium in general, some results have challenged this view, showing little or no effect on fitness after plasmid acquisition, which may lead to change in the view that there are evolutionary barriers for a wide spread of such plasmids among bacteria. Here, to evaluate the fitness impact of plasmid-encoded antibiotic resistance and virulence genes, plasmids from O26:H11, O111:H8, and O118:H16 Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) human and bovine isolates were transferred to the non-virulent E. coli HS and K-12 MG1655 strains. Sequencing and PCR were used to characterize plasmids, and to identify the presence of antimicrobial resistance and/or virulence genes. The fitness impact of plasmids encoding virulence and antimicrobial resistance upon bacterial hosts was determined by pairwise growth competition. Plasmid profile analysis showed that STEC strains carried one or more high and low molecular weight plasmids belonging to the B/O, F, I, K, P, Q, and/or X incompatibility groups encoding virulence genes (SPATE-encoding genes) and/or antimicrobial resistance genes (aadA1, strAB, tetA, and/or tetB). Competition experiments demonstrated that the biological cost of carriage of these plasmids by the commensal E. coli strain HS or the laboratory strain E. coli K-12 MG1655 was low or non-existent, ranging from - 4.7 to 5.2% per generation. This suggests that there are few biological barriers-or, alternatively, it suggests that there are biological barriers that we were not able to measure in this competition model-against the spread of plasmid encoding virulence and resistance genes from STEC to other, less pathogenic E. coli strains. Thus, our results, in opposition to a common view, suggest that the acquisition of plasmids does not significantly affect the bacteria fitness and, therefore, the theorized plasmid burden would not be a significant barrier for plasmid spread.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Cecilia Cergole-Novella
- Laboratorio Regional de Santo Andre, Instituto Adolfo Lutz, Santo Andre, SP, Brazil.
- Department of Microbiology, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo, Immunology, Parasitology, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil.
| | - Virve Irene Enne
- Department of Clinical Microbiology, University College London, London, UK
| | | | - Eneas Carvalho
- Bacteriology Laboratory, Butantan Institute, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Beatriz Ernestina Cabilio Guth
- Department of Microbiology, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo, Immunology, Parasitology, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil
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Epidemiology of Escherichia coli serogroups O26, O103, O111 and O145 in very young ('bobby') calves in the North Island, New Zealand. Epidemiol Infect 2017; 145:1606-1616. [PMID: 28264732 DOI: 10.1017/s0950268817000401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
The prevalence and spatial distribution of Escherichia coli serogroups O26, O103, O111 and O145 in calves 70% similarity) using pulsed field gel electrophoresis. Mapping of the farms showed the presence of farms positive for O26, O103 and O145 in three important dairy producing regions of the North Island. Calves positive for O103 were more likely to be positive for O26 and vice versa (P = 0·04). Similarly, calves positive for O145 were more likely to be positive for O103 and vice versa (P = 0·03). This study demonstrates that non-O157 E. coli serogroups of public health and economic importance containing clinically relevant virulence factors are present in calves in the North Island of New Zealand.
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Thomas RR, Brooks HJL, O'Brien R. Prevalence of Shiga toxin-producing and enteropathogenic Escherichia coli marker genes in diarrhoeic stools in a New Zealand catchment area. J Clin Pathol 2016; 70:81-84. [PMID: 27698249 DOI: 10.1136/jclinpath-2016-203882] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2016] [Revised: 07/22/2016] [Accepted: 08/03/2016] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Shiga toxin-producing (STEC) and enteropathogenic (EPEC) Escherichia coli are gastrointestinal pathogens causing diarrhoeal and extraintestinal disease. Due to lack of EPEC screening and use of Sorbitol-MacConkey (SMAC) agar in faecal screening, the true prevalence of EPEC and non-O157 STEC in New Zealand diarrhoeal cases is unknown. METHODS Diarrhoeic stools sourced from Dunedin hospital were pre-enriched, DNA extracted with Chelex-100 resin and screened using a multiplex TaqMan quantitative PCR assay amplifying stx1, sxt2 and EPEC (eae) gene markers. RESULTS Of the 522 diarrhoeic samples surveyed, 8 (1.53%) were PCR positive for stx1/stx2 and 23 (4.41%) were positive for eae. Six (75%) of the stx+ samples were uncommon non-O157 serotypes, and the remainder were found to be positive for both O103 and O157 STEC somatic antigens. CONCLUSIONS Results revealed shortcomings in current screening protocols for pathogenic E. coli; SMAC is not sufficiently discriminatory to detect emergent STEC serotypes and EPEC likely has an unappreciated role in cases of diarrhoea in New Zealand.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rowan R Thomas
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Otago, Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand
| | - Heather J L Brooks
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Otago, Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand
| | - Rory O'Brien
- Disease Research Laboratory, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Otago, Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand
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Chen S, Sanderson MW, Lee C, Cernicchiaro N, Renter DG, Lanzas C. Basic Reproduction Number and Transmission Dynamics of Common Serogroups of Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli. Appl Environ Microbiol 2016; 82:5612-20. [PMID: 27401976 PMCID: PMC5007764 DOI: 10.1128/aem.00815-16] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2016] [Accepted: 07/01/2016] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
UNLABELLED Understanding the transmission dynamics of pathogens is essential to determine the epidemiology, ecology, and ways of controlling enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) in animals and their environments. Our objective was to estimate the epidemiological fitness of common EHEC strains in cattle populations. For that purpose, we developed a Markov chain model to characterize the dynamics of 7 serogroups of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (O26, O45, O103, O111, O121, O145, and O157) in cattle production environments based on a set of cross-sectional data on infection prevalence in 2 years in two U.S. states. The basic reproduction number (R0) was estimated using a Bayesian framework for each serogroup based on two criteria (using serogroup alone [the O-group data] and using O serogroup, Shiga toxin gene[s], and intimin [eae] gene together [the EHEC data]). In addition, correlations between external covariates (e.g., location, ambient temperature, dietary, and probiotic usage) and prevalence/R0 were quantified. R0 estimates varied substantially among different EHEC serogroups, with EHEC O157 having an R0 of >1 (∼1.5) and all six other EHEC serogroups having an R0 of less than 1. Using the O-group data substantially increased R0 estimates for the O26, O45, and O103 serogroups (R0 > 1) but not for the others. Different covariates had distinct influences on different serogroups: the coefficients for each covariate were different among serogroups. Our modeling and analysis of this system can be readily expanded to other pathogen systems in order to estimate the pathogen and external factors that influence spread of infectious agents. IMPORTANCE In this paper we describe a Bayesian modeling framework to estimate basic reproduction numbers of multiple serotypes of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli according to a cross-sectional study. We then coupled a compartmental model to reconstruct the infection dynamics of these serotypes and quantify their risk in the population. We incorporated different sensitivity levels of detecting different serotypes and evaluated their potential influence on the estimation of basic reproduction numbers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shi Chen
- Department of Public Health Sciences, University of North Carolina Charlotte, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA Department of Population Health and Pathobiology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
| | - Michael W Sanderson
- Department of Diagnostic Medicine and Pathobiology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, USA
| | - Chihoon Lee
- School of Business, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, New Jersey, USA Department of Statistics, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Natalia Cernicchiaro
- Department of Diagnostic Medicine and Pathobiology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, USA
| | - David G Renter
- Department of Diagnostic Medicine and Pathobiology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, USA
| | - Cristina Lanzas
- Department of Population Health and Pathobiology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
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Diversity and relatedness of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli and Campylobacter jejuni between farms in a dairy catchment. Epidemiol Infect 2015; 144:1406-17. [PMID: 26593403 DOI: 10.1017/s0950268815002782] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
The aim of this study was to examine the population structure, transmission and spatial relationship between genotypes of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) and Campylobacter jejuni, on 20 dairy farms in a defined catchment. Pooled faecal samples (n = 72) obtained from 288 calves were analysed by real-time polymerase chain reaction (rtPCR) for E. coli serotypes O26, O103, O111, O145 and O157. The number of samples positive for E. coli O26 (30/72) was high compared to E. coli O103 (7/72), O145 (3/72), O157 (2/72) and O111 (0/72). Eighteen E. coli O26 and 53 C. jejuni isolates were recovered from samples by bacterial culture. E. coli O26 and C. jejuni isolates were genotyped using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and multilocus sequence typing, respectively. All E. coli O26 isolates could be divided into four clusters and the results indicated that E. coli O26 isolates recovered from calves on the same farm were more similar than isolates recovered from different farms in the catchment. There were 11 different sequence types of C. jejuni isolated from the cattle and 22 from water. An analysis of the population structure of C. jejuni isolated from cattle provided evidence of clustering of genotypes within farms, and among groups of farms separated by road boundaries.
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Crossland WL, Callaway TR, Tedeschi LO. Shiga Toxin-Producing E. coli and Ruminant Diets. Food Saf (Tokyo) 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-800245-2.00010-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
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Brennan FP, Grant J, Botting CH, O'Flaherty V, Richards KG, Abram F. Insights into the low-temperature adaptation and nutritional flexibility of a soil-persistentEscherichia coli. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 2012; 84:75-85. [DOI: 10.1111/1574-6941.12038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2012] [Revised: 10/23/2012] [Accepted: 10/24/2012] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Fiona P. Brennan
- Ecological Sciences Group; The James Hutton Institute; Craigiebucker, Aberdeen; Scotland
| | - Jim Grant
- Ashtown Research Centre; Teagasc; Dublin; Ireland
| | - Catherine H. Botting
- Biomedical Sciences Research Complex; University of St. Andrews; St. Andrews; Fife; UK
| | - Vincent O'Flaherty
- Microbial Ecology Laboratory; Department of Microbiology; School of Natural Sciences and Ryan Institute; National University of Ireland, Galway; Galway; Ireland
| | | | - Florence Abram
- Functional Environmental Microbiology; Department of Microbiology; School of Natural Sciences; National University of Ireland, Galway; Galway; Ireland
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Chase-Topping ME, Rosser T, Allison LJ, Courcier E, Evans J, McKendrick IJ, Pearce MC, Handel I, Caprioli A, Karch H, Hanson MF, Pollock KGJ, Locking ME, Woolhouse MEJ, Matthews L, Low JC, Gally DL. Pathogenic potential to humans of bovine Escherichia coli O26, Scotland. Emerg Infect Dis 2012; 18:439-48. [PMID: 22377426 PMCID: PMC3309639 DOI: 10.3201/eid1803.111236] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Escherichia coli O26 and O157 have similar overall prevalences in cattle in Scotland, but in humans, Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O26 infections are fewer and clinically less severe than E. coli O157 infections. To investigate this discrepancy, we genotyped E. coli O26 isolates from cattle and humans in Scotland and continental Europe. The genetic background of some strains from Scotland was closely related to that of strains causing severe infections in Europe. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling found an association between hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) and multilocus sequence type 21 strains and confirmed the role of stx(2) in severe human disease. Although the prevalences of E. coli O26 and O157 on cattle farms in Scotland are equivalent, prevalence of more virulent strains is low, reducing human infection risk. However, new data on E. coli O26-associated HUS in humans highlight the need for surveillance of non-O157 enterohemorrhagic E. coli and for understanding stx(2) phage acquisition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margo E Chase-Topping
- Centre for Immunity, Infection, and Evolution, University of Edinburgh, Kings Buildings, Edinburgh EH9 3J5, UK.
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Variability of Escherichia coli O157 strain survival in manure-amended soil in relation to strain origin, virulence profile, and carbon nutrition profile. Appl Environ Microbiol 2011; 77:8088-96. [PMID: 21908630 DOI: 10.1128/aem.00745-11] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The variation in manure-amended soil survival capability among 18 Escherichia coli O157 strains (8 animal, 1 food, and 9 human isolates) was studied using a single sandy soil sample and a single sample of cattle manure as the inoculum carrier. The virulence profiles of E. coli O157 strains were characterized by detection of virulence determinants (73 genes, 122 probes in duplicate) by using the Identibac E. coli genotyping DNA miniaturized microarray. Metabolic profiling was done by subjecting all strains to the Biolog phenotypic carbon microarray. Survival times (calculated as days needed to reach the detection limit using the Weibull model) ranged from 47 to 266 days (median, 120 days). Survival time was significantly higher for the group of human isolates (median, 211 days; minimum [min.], 71; maximum [max.], 266) compared to the group of animal isolates (median, 70 days; min., 47; max., 249) (P = 0.025). Although clustering of human versus animal strains was observed based on pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns, no relation between survival time and the presence of virulence genes was observed. Principal component analysis on the metabolic profiling data revealed distinct clustering of short- and long-surviving strains. The oxidization rate of propionic acid, α-ketobutyric acid, and α-hydroxybutyric acid was significantly higher for the long-surviving strains than for the short-surviving strains. The oxidative capacity of E. coli O157 strains may be regarded as a phenotypic marker for enhanced survival in manure-amended soil. The large variation observed in survival is of importance for risk assessment models.
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Identification of genetic markers for differentiation of Shiga toxin-producing, enteropathogenic, and avirulent strains of Escherichia coli O26. Appl Environ Microbiol 2011; 77:2275-81. [PMID: 21317253 DOI: 10.1128/aem.02832-10] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O26 is one of the top five enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) O groups most often associated with hemorrhagic colitis and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) worldwide. STEC O26 is considered to have evolved from enteropathogenic (EPEC) O26 strains through the acquisition of Shiga toxin (Stx)-encoding genes. Our PCR data identified several STEC-like strains expressing all features of STEC except Stx production and carrying remnants of Stx phages that were probably derivatives of EHEC O26. EHEC and EPEC O26 strains phenotypically resemble O26 EHEC-like and apathogenic E. coli O26 strains and are therefore undistinguishable by cultural methods. A clear discrimination between the different O26 groups is required for diagnostics in patients and for control of food safety. To develop an assay for specific detection of EHEC and EHEC-like O26 strains, we used a high-throughput PCR approach for selection of discriminative genetic markers among 33 tested genes mostly encoding type III secretion system effector proteins. The genes ECs1822, nleH1-2, nleA, nleC, nleH1-1, nleG, nleG2, nleG6-1, nleG6-2, espJ, espM2, nleG8-2, espG, ent (or espL2), nleB, nleE, efa1, and espB were detected at different frequencies in O26 EHEC, EHEC-like, and EPEC strains, indicating the possible role of these genes in virulence of human pathogenic O26 strains. The espK and espN genes were detected only in EHEC and EHEC-like O26 strains. espK was present in 99.14% of EHEC and 91.14% of EHEC-like O26 strains and was hence the best candidate as a genetic marker for characterizing these pathogroups. These data were corroborated by a genotyping real-time PCR test based on allelic discrimination of the arcA (aerobic respiratory control protein A) gene. The results indicate that a combination of molecular detection tools for O26 wzx (wzx(O26)), eae-beta, stx, espK, and arcA genotyping is highly discriminative for clear identification of EHEC and EHEC-like E. coli O26 strains. This simple diagnostic test might be applicable in hospital service laboratories or public health laboratories to test strains isolated from stools of patients suffering from diarrhea.
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Melton-Celsa A, Mohawk K, Teel L, O’Brien A. Pathogenesis of Shiga-Toxin Producing Escherichia coli. Curr Top Microbiol Immunol 2011; 357:67-103. [DOI: 10.1007/82_2011_176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 85] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
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