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ARS Home » Plains Area » Clay Center, Nebraska » U.S. Meat Animal Research Center » Meat Safety and Quality » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #331901
Research Project: Mitigation Approaches for Foodborne Pathogens in Cattle and Swine for Use During Production and Processing

Location: Meat Safety and Quality

Title: Characterization and virulence potential of serogroup O113 Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli strains isolated from beef and cattle in the United States

Author
item FENG, PETER - Food And Drug Administration(FDA)
item DELANNOY, SABINE - French Agency For Food, Environmental And Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES)
item LACHER, DAVID - Food And Drug Administration(FDA)
item Bosilevac, Joseph - Mick
item FACH, PATRICK - French Agency For Food, Environmental And Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES)

Submitted to: Journal of Food Protection
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/17/2016
Publication Date: 2/15/2017
Citation: Feng, P., Delannoy, S., Lacher, D., Bosilevac, J.M., Fach, P. 2017. Characterization and virulence potential of serogroup O113 Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli strains isolated from beef and cattle in the United States. Journal of Food Protection. 80(3):383-391. doi:10.4315/0362-028X.JFP-16-325.

Interpretive Summary: Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) can cause very severe disease. STEC of serogroup O113 are commonly found in US beef but little disease is reported in the US for this STEC. In other countries STEC O113 have caused severe disease, therefore this study examined STEC O113 isolated from beef and cattle in the US and compared them to the disease causing strains from other countries. US strains of STEC O113 were found to be made up of two related groups. A small portion of one of the groups had overlapping profiles with the disease causing STEC O113. However, the isolates of STEC O113 that were similar to disease causing strains could be attributed to beef products that had been imported and are not common to US beef and cattle.

Technical Abstract: Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) of serotype O113:H21 have caused severe diseases but are unusual in that they do not produce the intimin protein required for adherence to intestinal epithelial cells. Strains of serogroup O113 are one of the most common STEC found in ground beef and beef products in the U.S. but their virulence potential are unknown. We used a microarray to characterize 65 O113 strains isolated in the U.S. from ground beef, beef trim, cattle feces and fresh spinach. Most were O113:H21 strains, but there were also nine strains of O113:H4 serotype. Strains within the same serotype had similar genetic profiles, but the two serotypes were very distinct and the strains belonged in different clonal groups. Analysis by CRISPR showed that O113:H4 strains are conserved genetically, but the O113:H21 strains showed considerable polymorphisms and genetic diversity. In comparison to the O113:H21 strains from Australia that were implicated in severe disease, the U.S. isolates showed similar genetic profiles to the known pathogens, suggesting that these may also have the potential to cause infections.