Description
Most Escherichia coli strains are harmless; however, some can cause serious food poisoning. Enteric E.coli that is responsible for foodborne disease can present different virulence determinants, corresponding to different pathotypes[1], including the verocytotoxigenic E.coli (VTEC), comprising the enterohaemorrhagic E.coli (EHEC) and the enteropathogenic E.coli (EPEC). VTEC (or STEC) are characterized by the production of verocytotoxins (Vtx), also known as Shiga-like toxins (Stx), which are encoded by vtx1 or vtx2 genes. EHEC (including O157:H7 and O157:H-) are a subset of VTEC, which in addition to Vtx-encoding genes harbour the intimin-coding gene eae that cause attaching and effacing lesions in hosts, and are recognized as major pathogens of foodborne disease in humans. The EPEC synthesize intimin but not Vtx. Whereas VTEC comprises of a large number of serotypes, those associated with the more severe forms of disease, such as haemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), include O157, O126, O111, O103, and O145[2].
Traditional microbiological detection and confirmation methods are long established and well developed but typically require many days in order to obtain results. This qPCR Detection Kit provides a fast, sensitive and reliable method for the detection of HUSEC E.coli serotypes on qPCR using specific FAM-labeled probes, requiring less than 2 days. This immense time reduction allows taking appropriate action, if needed, much sooner.
This kit is compatible with instruments equipped with FAM and ROX channels. The detection limit is approximately 50-500fg of E.coli DNA allowing the detection of, after enrichment, as little as 1-10 cells per 25g of food sample, with a specificity of 100%.