Development of a multiplex PCR approach for the identification of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli strains and their major virulence factor genes

Abstract

The ability to identify STEC bacteria and the majority of their virulence gene markers, including four variants of Shiga toxin, as well as the differentiation of O157:H7 from non-O157 isolates represents a considerable advancement over other PCR-based methods for rapid characterization of STEC.