DETECTION OF GENES FOR HEAT-STABLE ENTEROTOXIN IN ESCHERICHIA COLI BY BIOTINYLATED ST-DNA PROBES

Reference strains of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC), non-enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (non-ETEC), enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC),enteroinvasive Escherichia coli (EIEC), and other enteropathogenic bacteria were used to prove the reliability of BIO-ST-DNA probe hybridization. In addition, 417 strains of E. coli isolated from children with diarrheal diseases in Shanxi Children’s Hospital were examined for BIO-ST-DNA probe hybridization. In the test, BIO-ST-DNA hybridization was compared with suckling mouse assay in identifying ST-ETEC. The results obtained by both methods showed no significant difference. It was found that identification of ST-ETEC using hybridization is a simple, sensitive and more practical method.