Open AccessCytolethal Distending Toxin Gene Cluster in Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H − and O157:H7: Characterization and Evolutionary Considerations
Author(s) -
Andreas Janka,
Martina Bielaszewska,
Ulrich Dobrindt,
Lilo Greune,
M. Alexander Schmidt,
Helge Karch
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
infection and immunity
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.508
H-Index - 220
eISSN - 1070-6313
pISSN - 0019-9567
DOI - 10.1128/iai.71.6.3634-3638.2003
Subject(s) - cytolethal distending toxin , biology , escherichia coli , cosmid , microbiology and biotechnology , toxin , virulence , gene cluster , shiga toxin , gene , virulence factor , strain (injury) , enterobacteriaceae , genetics , anatomy
We identified a cytolethal distending toxin (cdt) gene cluster in 87, 6, and 0% of sorbitol-fermenting (SF) enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) O157:H(-), EHEC O157:H7, and E. coli O55:H7/H(-) strains, respectively. The toxin was expressed by the wild-type EHEC O157 strains and by a cdt-containing cosmid from a library of SF EHEC O157:H(-) strain 493/89. The cdt flanks in strain 493/89 were homologous to bacteriophages P2 and lambda. Our data demonstrate that cdt, encoding a potential virulence factor, is present in the EHEC O157 complex and suggest that cdt may have been acquired by phage transduction.