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Infection and Immunity, December 2004, p. 7030-7039, Vol. 72, No. 12
0019-9567/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/IAI.72.12.7030-7039.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

First-Time Isolation and Characterization of a Bacteriophage Encoding the Shiga Toxin 2c Variant, Which Is Globally Spread in Strains of Escherichia coli O157

Eckhard Strauch,1 Christoph Schaudinn,1 and Lothar Beutin1*

Department of Biological Safety, Robert Koch-Institut, Berlin, Germany1

Received 21 June 2004/ Returned for modification 5 August 2004/ Accepted 13 August 2004

A bacteriophage encoding the Shiga toxin 2c variant (Stx2c) was isolated from the human Escherichia coli O157 strain CB2851 and shown to form lysogens on the E. coli K-12 laboratory strains C600 and MG1655. Production of Stx2c was found in the wild-type E. coli O157 strain and the K-12 lysogens and was inducible by growing bacteria in the presence of ciprofloxacin. Phage 2851 is the first reported viable bacteriophage which carries an stx2c gene. Electron micrographs of phage 2851 showed particles with elongated hexagonal heads and long flexible tails resembling phage lambda. Sequence analysis of an 8.4-kb region flanking the stx2c gene and other genetic elements revealed a mosaic gene structure, as found in other Stx phages. Phage 2851 showed lysis of E. coli K-12 strains lysogenic for Stx phages encoding Stx1 (H19), Stx2 (933W), Stx (7888), and Stx1c (6220) but showed superinfection immunity with phage lambda, presumably originating from the similarity of the cI repressor proteins of both phages. Apparently, phage 2851 integrates at a different chromosomal locus than Stx2 phage 933W and Stx1 phage H19 in E. coli, explaining why Stx2c is often found in combination with Stx1 or Stx2 in E. coli O157 strains. Diagnostic PCR was performed to determine gene sequences specific for phage 2851 in wild-type E. coli O157 strains producing Stx2c. The phage 2851 q and o genes were frequently detected in Stx2c-producing E. coli O157 strains, indicating that phages related to 2851 are associated with Stx2c production in strains of E. coli O157 that were isolated in different locations and time periods.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Division of Microbial Toxins, Department of Biological Safety, Robert Koch Institute, Nordufer 20, D-13353 Berlin, Germany. Phone: 49 30 45 47 2484. Fax: 49 30 45 47 2673. E-mail: BeutinL{at}rki.de.

Editor: J. T. Barbieri

Infection and Immunity, December 2004, p. 7030-7039, Vol. 72, No. 12
0019-9567/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/IAI.72.12.7030-7039.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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