Identification of Diarrheagenic E. coli Pathotypes

Diarrheagenic E. coli pathotypes, including enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC), enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC), shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), enteroinvasive E. coli (EIEC) and enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC) were identified using the previously described PCR method [28 (link)]. The criteria used for determining pathotypes were as follows: isolates carrying eaeA and escV and possible additional genes ent and bfpB were EPEC; isolates carrying elt and/or estla or estlb were ETEC; isolates carrying stx1 and/or stx2 and possible additional eaeA were STEC; isolates carrying invE and ipaH were EIEC; isolates carrying pic and/or aggR were EAEC. Diffusely adherent E. coli (DAEC) was identified by specific PCR for afa/dr as previously reported [29 (link)]. For P. mirabilis, the detection of eight virulence genes (ptA, zapA, ucaA, ireA, hpmA, mrpA, pmfA and atfA) that are often found in isolates from urinary tract infection was performed by using PCR, as previously described [30 (link)].