Random amplification of polymorphic DNA reveals clonal relationships among enteropathogenic Escherichia coli isolated from non-human primates and humans

Abstract

Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) strains are important agents of infantile diarrhea all over the world, gaining even greater importance in developing countries. EPEC have also been isolated from various animal species, but most isolates belong to serotypes that differ from those recovered from humans. However, it has been demonstrated that several isolates from non-human primates belong to the serogroups and/or serotypes related to those implicated in human disease. The objective of this study was to evaluate the genetic differences between thirteen strains isolated from non-human primates and the same number of strains isolated from human infections. Human isolates belonged to the same serogroup/serotype as the monkey strains and the evaluation was done by analysis of random amplified polymorphic DNA. Dendrogram analysis showed that there was no clustering between human and monkey strains. Human and non-human isolates of the EPEC serotypes O127:H40 and O128:H2 shared 90 and 87% of their bands, respectively, indicating strong genomic similarity between the strains, leading to the speculation that they may have arisen from the same pathogenic clone. To our knowledge, this study is the first one comparing genomic similarity between human and non-human primate strains and the results provide further evidence that monkey EPEC strains correlate with human EPEC, as suggested in a previous investigation.

Clonal Relationship among Atypical Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli Strains Isolated from Different Animal Species and Humans

“…Therefore, animals can play a role as reservoirs and sources of infection of atypical EPEC for humans, as previously suggested by other authors (3,15,45,51,53,72). This indicates that in contrast to typical EPEC strains, diarrhea caused by atypical EPEC can be considered zoonosis.…”

“…Some studies have associated pets and farm and wild animals as reservoirs and infection sources of atypical EPEC strains for humans (32). However, these studies did not compare atypical EPEC strains isolated from humans and animals by gold-standard molecular methods like multilocus sequence typing (MLST) or pulsedfield gel electrophoresis (PFGE) (15,35,43,53). For this reason, there are some doubts about whether atypical EPEC strains isolated from animals represent risks for human health and whether animals really play the role of reservoirs of atypical EPEC.…”

Caracterização molecular de Escherichia coli enteropatogênica atípica em animais silvestres capturados na Região Amazônica

“…Estudos anteriores demonstraram a ocorrência de animais como reservatório de cepas consideradas como potenciais agentes de doenças que podem ser transmitidas entre seres humanos e animais 21,22,23 .…”

Genetic Characteristics and Antimicrobial Resistance of Escherichia Coli From Japanese Macaques (Macaca Fuscata) in Rural Japan

“…Wild macaques are unlikely to act as reservoirs of pathogenic E. coli. However, genomic similarity has been observed between enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) from humans and monkeys, and monkeys were suspected as a reservoir of EPEC in Brazil (Carvalho et al, 2007). Therefore, it is important to continue monitoring for pathogenic E. coli among wild macaques, especially where they coexist with humans.…”