Prevalence of toxin encoding genes in Escherichia coli isolates from urinary tract infections in SloveniaStarčič Erjavec, Marjanca (Avtor) Križan-Hergouth, Veronika (Avtor) Gubina, Borut (Avtor) Žgur-Bertok, Darja (Avtor) Methods 110 uropathogenic Escherichia coli strains (UPEC) obtained from the Institute of Microbiology and Immunology of the Medical Faculty in Ljubljana were screened by PCR with primers specific for the following toxin encoding genes: hlyA (haemolysin), cnf1 (cytotoxic necrotising factor 1), usp (uropathogenic specific protein USP) and ibeA (invasin). Dot blot hybridisation experiments were performed to validate the PCR assays. Results In 44% of the strains usp gene sequences were detected. The prevalence of hlyAand cnf1 was 25% and 23%, respectively. Only 9% of the strains harbored ibeA. The majority of the tested toxin encoding genes was found in strains belonging to the B2 phylogenetic group. Conclusions The toxin encoding genes hlyA, cnf1 and usp were strongly co-associated. Further, we found a statistically significant co-association of ibeA and usp. The prevalence of the tested toxin encoding genes in E. coli strains from urinary tract infections isolated in Slovenia is comparable to those from studies in other geographic regions.Slovensko zdravniško društvo20082015-07-10 18:02:29Delo ni kategorizirano58078UDK: 579ISSN pri članku: 1318-0347COBISS_ID: 24527577OceCobissID: 32893696sl