A Brief Overview of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Its Plasmid O157

• Published in: Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol. 20; no. 1; pp. 5 - 14
• Main Authors: Lim, Ji-Youn, Yoon, Jang-W, Hovde, Carolyn J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Korean
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: coli O157:H7; E; pO157
• ISSN: 1017-7825

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 is a major foodborne pathogen causing severe disease in humans worldwide. Healthy cattle are a reservoir of E. coli O157:H7, and bovine food products and fresh produce contaminated with bovine waste are the most common sources for disease outbreaks in the United States. E. coli O157:H7 also survives well in the environment. The abilities to cause human disease, colonize the bovine gastrointestinal tract, and survive in the environment require that E. coli O157:H7 adapt to a wide variety of conditions. Three major virulence factors of E. coli O157:H7 have been identified including Shiga toxins, products of the pathogenicity island called the locus of enterocyte effacement, and products of the F-like plasmid pO157. Among these virulence factors, the role of pO157 is least understood. This review provides a board overview of E. coli O157:H7 with an emphasis on pO157.