Frequencies of virulence genes and pulse field gel electrophoresis fingerprints in Escherichia coli isolates from canine pyometra

•Escherichia coli isolates from canine pyometra had heterogeneous fingerprints.•The fingerprints suggest that the isolates are unlikely to be epidemic clones.•The frequency of yersiniabactin and salmochelin genes was high.•The high frequency of genes encoding these iron uptake systems suggests an involvement in the pathogenesis of canine pyometra. Escherichia coli is the most common bacterial agent isolated from canine pyometra. The frequencies of 24 virulence genes and pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) profiles were determined for 23 E. coli isolates from cases of canine pyometra in Brazil. The frequencies of virulence genes were 91.3% fimH, 91.3% irp-2, 82.6% fyuA, 56.5% iroN, 47.8% traT, 39.1% usp, 34.8% sfaD/E, 34.8% tsh, 30.4% papC, 30.4% hlyA, 26.1% papGIII, 26.1% cnf-1, 21.7% papE/F, 21.7% iss, 17.4% iutA, 17.4% ompT, 17.4% cvaC, 17.4% hlyF, 17.4% iucD, 13.0% iucC, 13.0% astA, 4.3% papGII, 0% afaB/C and 0% papGI. The high frequency of yersiniabactin (fyuA and irp2) and salmochelin (iroN) genes suggests that iron uptake systems might be important in the pathogenesis of canine pyometra. PFGE profiles of 19 isolates were heterogeneous, confirming that E. coli isolates from canine pyometra are unlikely to be epidemic clones.