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Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology, May 1998, p. 299-302, Vol. 5, No. 3
Enteric Diseases and Food Safety Research
Unit, National Animal Disease Center, USDA Agricultural Research
Service, Ames, Iowa 50010
Received 21 July 1997/Returned for modification 11 November
1997/Accepted 21 January 1998
Toxin-producing Escherichia coli expressing F18
fimbriae colonizes the small intestines of weaned pigs and causes
diarrhea, edema disease, or both. The F18 family is composed of two
antigenic variants, F18ab and F18ac. Because many strains do not
express F18 fimbriae in vitro, identification and differentiation of
these two variants are difficult. Single-strand conformational
polymorphism (SSCP) analysis is a rapid method for identifying genetic
mutations and polymorphisms. The F18 major fimbrial subunit genes
(fedA) of 138 strains were amplified by PCR, and genetic
differences were detected by SSCP analysis. The SSCP analysis of the
fedA gene differentiated F18ab+ strains from
F18ac+ strains. Most strains classified as
F18ab+ by SSCP analysis contained Shiga toxin 2e and
enterotoxin genes. Most strains classified as F18ac+ by
SSCP analysis contained only enterotoxin genes. The SSCP analysis was a
useful method for predicting the antigenicity of F18+
E. coli and could also be used for analysis of other
virulence genes in E. coli and other pathogenic bacteria.
1071-412X/98/$00.00+0
Differentiation of F18ab+ from
F18ac+ Escherichia coli by Single-Strand
Conformational Polymorphism Analysis of the Major Fimbrial Subunit
Gene (fedA)
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Enteric Diseases
and Food Safety Research Unit, USDA-ARS, National Animal Disease
Center, P.O. Box 70, Ames, IA 50010. Phone: (515) 239-8279. Fax: (515) 239-8458. E-mail: bboswort{at}nadc.ars.usda.gov.
Present address: Department of Surgery, College of Medicine,
University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40292.
| Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. | Clin. Microbiol. Rev. | Infect. Immun. |
|---|---|---|
| J. Clin. Microbiol. | J. Virol. | ALL ASM JOURNALS |