• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제19권5호
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• pp.525-529
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• 2009

Cytolethal distending toxins (CDTs) represent an emerging family of newly described bacterial products that are produced by a number of pathogens. The genes encoding these toxins have been identified as a cluster of three adjacent genes, cdtA, cdtB, and cdtC, plus 5 cdt genetic variants, designated as cdt-I, cdt-II, cdt-III, cdt-IV, and cdt-V, have been identified to date. In this study, a general multiplex PCR system designed to detect Escherichia coli cdts was applied to investigate the presence of cdt genes among isolates. As a result, among 366 E. coli strains, 2.7% were found to carry the cdtB gene. In addition, the use of type-specific primers revealed the presence of cdt-I, cdtIV, and cdt-V types of the cdt gene, yet no cdt-II or cdt-III strains. The presence of other virulence genes (stxl, stx2, eae, bfp, espA, espB, and espD) was also investigated using a PCR assay. Among the 10 cdtB gene-positive strains, 8 were identified as COT-producing typical enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) strains ($eae^+$, $bfp^+$), whereas 2 were identified as CDT-producing atypical EPEC strains ($eae^+$, $bfp^-$). When comparing the cytotoxic activity of the CDT-producing typical and atypical EPEC strains, the CDT-producing atypical EPEC strains appeared to be less toxic than the CDT-producing typical EPEC strains.

• 한국식품위생안전성학회지
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• 제32권2호
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• pp.129-134
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• 2017

병원성 대장균군은 전세계적으로 식중독을 발생하는 중요한 병원균으로 알려져 있다. 국내 유통중인 생닭과 조리된 닭가공품 356시료에서 대장균 80균주(22.5%)를 분리하여 병원성 유전자 multiplex PCR를 이용하여 분석한 결과 astA 유전자가 26균주(32.5%)에서 검출되었으며, escV 유전자는 17균주(21.3%) eaeA 유전자는 16균주(20.0%) 검출되었다. 특히 식품에서 문제가 되는 장출혈성 대장균 유전자 stx 1는 3균주(3.8%)와 stx 2, EHEC-hly는 각 1균주(1.3%)에서 검출되었다. 병원성 유전자를 토대로 STEC, EPEC, EHEC, EIEC or EAEC의 병원성 대장균으로 분류한 결과 45균주(56.3%)가 검출되었으며 typical EPEC, EIEC and ETEC의 병원성 대장균은 검출되지 않았다. STEC 병원성 대장균은 O152, O1, O116, O26, O25, O119, O153 혈청형이 분리되었다. 특히 생닭에서 병원성 대장균에 대한 검출률이 높으므로 생닭을 가공 조리 시 교차 오염이 발생하기 않도록 조리 도구, 조리 환경에 대한 철저한 관리가 필요하다고 생각된다.

• 한국미생물·생명공학회지
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• 제48권2호
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• pp.121-128
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• 2020

Diarrhea is a major public health concern associated with pathogenic Escherichia coli infections. Food-borne pathogenic E. coli can lead to large diarrheal outbreaks and hence, there is a need to estimate the frequency of pathogenic E. coli load in the various types of meat available in markets. In the present study, we classified and characterized diarrheagenic E. coli isolates collected from 399 raw meat samples from retail sources in Korea. Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) were detected in 11 (9.7%) samples, including nine strains (8.0%) in beef and two strains (1.8%) in chicken. The frequency of the detected virulence markers were as follows: astA, 28.3%; escV,18.6%; eaeA,17.7%; ent, 7.0%; EHEC-hly, 4.4%; stx1, 3.5%; and stx2, 3.5%. We did not observe any typical EPEC, EIEC, or ETEC virulence determinants in any of the samples. The STEC serotype O26 was detected in one sample, but no other serogroups (O91, O103, O128, O157, O145, O111, and O121) were found. Further research is needed to better understand the virulence mechanism of STEC serotypes, their ecology, and prevalence in animals, food, and the environment. These results will help improve risk assessment and predict the sources of food poisoning outbreaks.