Intestinal Carriage of Two Distinct <i>stx<sub>2f</sub></i>-Carrying <i>Escherichia coli</i> Strains by a Child with Uncomplicated Diarrhea
Two distinct <i>stx<sub>2f</sub></i>-carrying <i>Escherichia coli</i> (<i>E. coli</i>) strains, isolated from a child with uncomplicated diarrhea fifteen weeks apart, were characterized by combining short- and long-read sequencing to compare their gene...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2024-11-01
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| Series: | Pathogens |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/13/11/1002 |
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| Summary: | Two distinct <i>stx<sub>2f</sub></i>-carrying <i>Escherichia coli</i> (<i>E. coli</i>) strains, isolated from a child with uncomplicated diarrhea fifteen weeks apart, were characterized by combining short- and long-read sequencing to compare their genetic relatedness. One strain was characterized as Shiga toxin-producing <i>E. coli</i> (STEC)/typical enteropathogenic <i>E. coli</i> (tEPEC) O63:H6 with a repertoire of virulence genes including <i>stx<sub>2f</sub></i>, <i>eae</i> (α2-subtype), <i>cdt</i>, and <i>bfpA</i>. The other STEC with serotype O157:H16, reported for the first time as <i>stx<sub>2f</sub></i>-carrying <i>Escherichia coli</i> in this study, possessed, in addition, <i>eae</i> (ε-subtype) and <i>cdt</i>, amongst other virulence-related genes. BLAST comparison showed that the <i>stx<sub>2f</sub></i>-harboring prophage sequences of both strains were highly homologous (99.6% identity and 96.1% coverage). These results were corroborated by core Stx2f phage Multilocus Sequence Typing (cpMLST) as the <i>stx<sub>2f</sub></i>-harboring prophages of both isolates clustered together when compared to those of 167 other human <i>stx<sub>2f</sub></i>-carrying <i>Escherichia coli</i>. Overall, the <i>stx<sub>2f</sub></i>-harboring prophages of the two distinct <i>E. coli</i> strains isolated from the present case were highly similar, suggesting that the <i>stx<sub>2f</sub></i>-harboring phage might have been transferred from the STEC/tEPEC O63:H6 strain to the atypical EPEC (aEPEC) O157:H16 strain in the gut of the child. |
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| ISSN: | 2076-0817 |