Review Article
Nateneal Tamerat, Yimer Muk
Abstract
Shiga-toxin producing Escherichia coli are considering as important emerging food-born bacterial pathogens. Among these kinds of Escherichia coli, serotype O157:H7 is the cause of sporadic and epidemic human cases of hemorrhagic colitis, which can lead to severe life threatening hemolytic uremic syndrome. Majority of cases are associated with ingestion of food or water contaminated with Escherichia coli O157:H7. This serotype is identified in 1982, and afterward the different pathogenic genes responsible for its virulence are sequenced. As the organism has been involved in many outbreaks of disease in human and animals, it is essential to develop a rapid, reliable and reproducible method of detection. In this review, different deoxyribonucleic acid based genotyping and detection methods are discussed. Genomic techniques like those that pulse field gel electrophoresis and restricted fragment length polymorphism are reviewed and Polymerase Chain Reaction variants are addressed along with some emerging technology like biosensor and microarray. The advantage and disadvantages of each described method are discussed throughout the review. Since each technique has its own merit and demerit, the decision for selection of E. coli O157:H7 detection technique will depend mainly on the balance between several factors such as the high speed, sensitivity, specificity, discrimination power, and availability of proper equipment’s and skilled man power. Thus, further research is recommended to improve molecular based detection techniques of E. coli O157:H7 in order to make the detection of this pathogen effective and specific in various regional and reference laboratory.