Escherichia coli are bacteria found in bowels of warm blooded animals. Most subspecies are harmless and part of the normal gut flora. However, E. coli have the ability to exchange genetic material with other bacteria, and some E. coli have acquired genes coding for virulence factors. VTEC, E. coli with the ability to produce verotoxin are commonly found in cattle, but certain types can cause severe disease in humans, known as enterohaemorrhagic E. coli, EHEC. In this study, isolates of E. coli and other bacteria in the family Enterobacteriaceae from calves were subtyped and clustered using MALDI-TOF. Ten strains were selected for experimental competition analysis against E. coli MG1655. The aim of the study was to identify strains of bacteria with the potential to outcompete VTEC in the cattle host and decrease the risk of human infections. Three of the bacterial strains were able to outcompete the laboratory strain, and in future studies these strains can be analysed when competing against VTEC. The rest of the strains were outcompeted. Four known strains of VTEC were analysed competing the laboratory strain, showing weak ability to compete. Finally, a highly pathogenic strain of VTEC was analysed against Escherichia coli Nissle 1917, known for its ability to outcompete many strains of bacteria. Nissle could not outcompete the tested VTEC strain under the tested conditions. In conclusion the majority of the bacterial strains isolated from calves were identified as E. coli and three of the isolates showed good ability to compete against the laboratory strain.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:uu-326102 |
| Date | January 2017 |
| Creators | Kåhre, Anna |
| Publisher | Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för kvinnors och barns hälsa |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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