DALLAS — Microbiologists at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, working with the Department of Agriculture, have identified a potential target in cattle that could be exploited to help prevent outbreaks of food-borne illnesses caused by a nasty strain of Escherichia coli.
Completed study
In the study, researchers interfered with a genetic sensing mechanism that allows the E. coli strain known as enterohemorrhagic O157:H7, or EHEC, to form colonies within cattle, causing the bacteria to die off before they could reach the animals’ recto-anal junction, the primary site of colonization.
Most other strains of E. coli gather in the colon.
“We’re diminishing colonization by not letting EHEC go where it needs to go efficiently,” said Vanessa Sperandio, associate professor of microbiology and biochemistry.
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