Genomic Analysis of a Hybrid Enteroaggregative Hemorrhagic Escherichia coli O181:H4 Strain Causing Colitis with Hemolytic-Uremic Syndrome

Abstract

Hybrid diarrheagenic E. coli strains combining genetic markers belonging to different pathotypes have emerged worldwide and have been reported as a public health concern. The most well-known hybrid strain of enteroaggregative hemorrhagic E. coli is E. coli O104:H4 strain, which was an agent of a serious outbreak of acute gastroenteritis and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) in Germany in 2011. A case of intestinal infection with HUS in St. Petersburg (Russian Federation) occurred in July 2018. E. coli strain SCPM-O-B-9427 was obtained from the rectal swab of the patient with HUS. It was determined as O181:H4-, stx2-, and aggR-positive and belonged to the phylogenetic group B2. The complete genome assembly of the strain SCPM-O-B-9427 contained one chromosome and five plasmids, including the plasmid coding an aggregative adherence fimbriae I. MLST analysis showed that the strain SCPM-O-B-9427 belonged to ST678, and like E. coli O104:H4 strains, 2011C-3493 caused the German outbreak in 2011, and 2009EL-2050 was isolated in the Republic of Georgia in 2009. Comparison of three strains showed almost the same structure of their chromosomes: the plasmids pAA and the stx2a phages are very similar, but they have distinct sets of the plasmids and some unique regions in the chromosomes.

Hetero-Pathogenic O181:H4 EAHEC Strain of Sequence Type ST678 Associated with Hemolytic–Uremic Syndrome in Schoolchildren in Russia

“…At the same time, the strain produced bacteriocins which inhibit the growth of the indicator strain E. coli K12 (C600). The antagonistic phenotype of the strain correlated with its genotype (the colE gene encoding colicin E and the mchB gene encoding microcin H47) that was presented in our recent publication [ 39 ].…”

“…The E. coli strain SCPM-O-B-9427 of the O181:H4 serotype was collected from the patient’s rectal swab received from the Center of Hygiene and Epidemiology in St. Petersburg and deposited into the State Collection of Pathogenic Microbes of the State Research Center for Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, Obolensk. In silico multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) based on seven loci of house-keeping genes by the Achtman’s MLST scheme database ( adk _6, fumC _6, gyrB _5, icd _136, mdh _9, purA _7, recA _7) showed the strain SCPM-O-B-9427 belonging to ST678 [ 39 ]. The study also used the E. coli strain SCPM-O-B-6860 of O104:H4 serotype isolated during the foodborne outbreak with HUS in Germany in 2011, as well as the E. coli strains used as control: ATCC 25922 and K12 (C600).…”

“…The strains of listed serotypes were associated with two pathotypes: STEC (O181:H49, O181:H20, O181:H4, O181:H8, O181:H16, and O181:H28) and EAEC (O181:H-, O181:H30, O181:H36, and O181:H3) [33][34][35][36][37][38]. The hetero-pathogenic E. coli strain attributed to the EAHEC pathotype of O181:H4 serotype was first presented in our study in 2022 [39].…”

A Mini-Review of Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli with a Specific Target on the Virulence Factors Controlled by the AggR Master Regulator

“…Interestingly, the role of AggR on the bacterial pathogenesis was evidenced in the EAEC strain O104:H4, which caused the Germany outbreak in 2011: the Δ aggR mutant was attenuated in the virulence using the ampicillin-treated mouse model ( Boisen et al 2019 ). In this sense, hybrid strains such as EAEC/EHEC and EAEC/UPEC possess the aggR gene, opening the perspectives about the role of this master regulator in these strains ( Nascimento et al 2021 ; Kislichkina et al 2022 ).…”

Recent Advances in Polymer-Based Biosensors for Food Safety Detection

“…E. coli is a globally significant foodborne pathogen that has been associated with numerous outbreaks of hemorrhagic colitis [ 67 ]. To address this issue, several researchers have developed miniature biosensors that can detect E. coli with high sensitivity and specificity.…”