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Infection and Immunity, July 2006, p. 4142-4148, Vol. 74, No. 7
0019-9567/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.00299-06
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Expression of Putative Virulence Factors of Escherichia coli O157:H7 Differs in Bovine and Human Infections

Rebecca A. Rashid,1 Tami A. Tabata,1 Melissa J. Oatley,2 Thomas E. Besser,2 Phillip I. Tarr,3 and Steve L. Moseley1*

Department of Microbiology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington,1 Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington,2 Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri3

Received 22 February 2006/ Returned for modification 16 March 2006/ Accepted 18 April 2006

Escherichia coli O157:H7 is a commensal organism in cattle, but it is a pathogen in humans. This differential expression of virulence suggests that specific virulence factors are regulated differently in human and bovine hosts. To test this hypothesis, relative real-time reverse transcription-PCR was used to relate the expression of several putative virulence genes (eae, espA, stx2, rfbE, ehxA, and iha) to that of the "housekeeping" gene gnd during natural human and experimental bovine infection with E. coli O157:H7. We examined these genes in fecal samples from eight humans and four calves. iha and espA were significantly more expressed in bovine infections. rfbE and ehxA appeared to be more highly expressed in human infections, though these differences did not achieve statistical significance. Our results support the hypothesis that some virulence-associated genes of O157:H7 are differentially expressed in a host-specific manner.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Microbiology, University of Washington, 1959 N.E. Pacific St., Mail Stop 357242, Seattle, WA 98195. Phone: (206) 543-2820. Fax: (206) 543-8297. E-mail: moseley{at}u.washington.edu.

Editor: A. D. O'Brien

Infection and Immunity, July 2006, p. 4142-4148, Vol. 74, No. 7
0019-9567/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.00299-06
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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