Prevalent and persistent Escherichia coli O157:H7 strains on farms are selected by bovine passage.

Abstract Escherichia coli O157:H7 is a human pathogen capable of causing hemorrhagic colitis and in some cases hemolytic uremic syndrome. Cattle are an asymptomatic carrier and a major reservoir of this pathogen that can be transmitted by contaminated foods like beef products and vegetables. To further understand persistence in cattle and on farms, a total of 1716 samples over a two-year period were collected from a Wisconsin dairy farm (Farm R) and 91 were positive for the presence of E. coli O157:H7. Seventy-six of 1373 (4.8%) fecal samples and 10/190 (5.3%) water samples were positive. Genotyping of the 341 E. coli O157 isolates by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis showed nine different restriction enzyme digestion profile (REDP) types, seven of which were 93–98% similar (comprised of serotype O157:H7 isolates) and two that were dissimilar (serotype O157:H-isolates). The REDP 31 strain dominated and was isolated from 59 fecal and 9 water samples; 75% of the positive samples (68/91) contained this strain. Growth studies of representative strains from each the REDP groups in Luria broth at 25 and 39 °C found no significant differences between the strains. In LB supplemented with bile salts (3, 6, and 9%; 39 °C, 48 h), the REDP 30 strain had a longer lag phase and achieved a lower maximum density than the other strains in the presence of 6 and 9% bile salts. Likewise, the survival of the strains in low-pH conditions (HCl, pH 2.0 and acetic acid, pH 3.0) were similar except for the REDP 30 strain which was significantly less acid tolerant at pH 2.0. A screening for differences in carbohydrate utilization found that the dominant strain (REDP 31) utilized the most carbon sources and was the only strain that oxidized amygdalin, citraconic acid, α-ketoglutarate, and γ-cyclodextrin. The inoculation of Holstein calves with a three-strain mixture (REDP 30, 31, and 36 strains) found the REDP 31 strain (FRIK 2455) dominated in fecal and rectal swab samples throughout the durations of shedding. These results suggested that carbohydrate utilization and host factors encountered during animal passage select for persistent and predominant strains on farms.