Predominance of afr2 and ral Fimbrial Genes Related to Those Encoding the K88 and CS31A Fimbrial Adhesins in Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli Isolates from Rabbits with Postweaning Diarrhea in Central Europe

摘要

PCR tests designed in these studies identified three rabbit adhesive factor genes among 43 enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) strains: afr1 (2 strains), the F4(K88)/CS31A-related afr2 (10 strains), and ral (15 strains). Several EPEC strains (i.e., O153:H7 and O157:H2) lacked these genes but did adhere to HeLa cells and produced attaching and effacing lesions in rabbits.