A total of 1002 Escherichia coli strains isolated from pre-weaned pigs with diarrhoea on 1114 swine farms were screened for the presence of the adhesin involved in diffuse adherence (AIDA) gene by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Escherichia coli isolates that carried AIDA genes were also tested by PCR for the detection of five fimbriae (F4, F5, F6, F18 and F41), heat-stable (STa, STb) and heat...

In swine, the most common and severe enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) infections are caused by strains that express K88 (F4)(+) fimbriae, heat-labile enterotoxin (LT), heat-stable enterotoxin b (STb), and enteroaggregative E. coli heat-stable toxin 1. Previous studies based on a design that involved enterotoxin genes cloned into a nontoxigenic fimbriated strain have suggested that LT but...

The insecticidal crystal (Cry) proteins produced by Bacillus thuringiensis undergo several conformational changes from crystal inclusion protoxins to membrane-inserted channels in the midgut epithelial cells of the target insect. Here we analyzed the stability of the different forms of Cry1Ab toxin, monomeric toxin, pre-pore complex, and membrane-inserted channel, after urea and thermal denatur...

Intestinal infection with enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is an important disease in swine resulting in significant economic losses. Knowledge about the epidemiology, the diagnostic approach and methods of control are of fundamental importance to tackle the disease. The ETEC causing neonatal colibacillosis mostly carry the fimbriae F4 (k88), F5 (k99), F6 (987P) or F41, while the ETEC of...

The combined effect of water activity (aw) and pH on growth and toxin production by Clostridium botulinum type G strain 89 was investigated. The minimum aw at which growth and toxin formation occurred was 0.965, for media in which the pH was adjusted with either sodium chloride or sucrose. The minimum pH (at the optimum aw) for growth and toxin production of C. botulinum type G was found to be ...

The occurrence of diarrhoea in piglets within three to 10 days of weaning (postweaning diarrhoea; PWD) has long been associated with the proliferation of certain serotypes of betahaemolytic Escherichia coli in the proximal small intestine of affected animals (Richards and Fraser, 1961). Many of these E. coli isolates have been found to be enterotoxigenic [ETEC], producing either heat stable tox...

The ability of hyperantigenic preparations of synthetically produced Escherichia coli heat-stable toxin (ST) to provide an immunogenically more potent vaccine when cross-linked by the glutaraldehyde reaction to the heat-labile toxin B subunit was assessed. Three synthetic ST preparations were evaluated: ST(S) had the same antigenicity and toxicity (secretory potency in the suckling mouse assay)...

Escherichia coli populations originating from swine houses through constructed wetlands were analyzed for potential pathogens, antimicrobial susceptibility patterns, and genotypic diversity. Escherichia coli isolates (n = 493) were screened for the presence of the following virulence genes: stx1, stx2 and eae (Shiga toxin-producing E. coli [STEC]), heat-labile enterotoxin (LT) genes and heat st...

Strain ts-S34 of Bordetella bronchiseptica was treated jointly with two mutagens, nitrosoguanidine and UV irradiation, and a urease-negative (u-), temperature-sensitive (ts) mutant strain indistinguishable from Alcaligenes faecalis in its biochemical characteristics was isolated. However, the mutant isolated was a phase III organism. By repeating selection of smaller, hemolytic colonies observe...

BACKGROUND Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is an important pathogen that causes childhood and travelers' diarrhea. Here, we present the draft genomes of four ETEC isolates recovered from stool specimens of patients with diarrhea in Beijing, China and Dhaka, Bangladesh, respectively. RESULTS We obtained the draft genomes of ETEC strains CE516 and CE549 isolated in China, and E1777 and ...