Open AccessMetabolism of phenylpropionic acid in enteropathogenic Escherichia coli belonging to serogroup O111 and its application for diagnosis
Author(s) -
Irino Kinue,
Dias Ângela Maria G.,
Kano Elena,
Vaz Tânia M.I.,
Kato Maria A.M.F.,
Gonçalves Célia R.,
Vieira Mônica A.M.,
Gomes Tânia A.T.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
fems microbiology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.899
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1574-6968
pISSN - 0378-1097
DOI - 10.1111/j.1574-6968.2001.tb10871.x
Subject(s) - enteropathogenic escherichia coli , serotype , escherichia coli , microbiology and biotechnology , enterobacteriaceae , biology , chemistry , virology , biochemistry , gene
We evaluated a biochemical assay based on the ability to metabolise β‐phenylpropionic acid (PPA) as a diagnostic aid in the identification of typical enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) strains. A total of 1061 E. coli strains of serogroups O55, O111, and O119 were initially characterised regarding their H types (serotypes) and the presence of EPEC DNA sequences, eae , EAF, and bfpA . In case of the serogroup O111 strains, 84.6% carried the typical EPEC markers, and the great majority of those (98.1%) were PPA‐positive. In contrast, only 0.9% of the serogroups O55 and O119 strains carrying the typical EPEC markers (53.6% and 75.4%, respectively) were PPA‐positive. We conclude that the PPA test is a useful method to detect typical EPEC strains only among strains of the O111 serogroup.