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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania » Eastern Regional Research Center » Characterization and Interventions for Foodborne Pathogens » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #429036
Research Project: Molecular Analysis of Foodborne Pathogen Responses to Stressors

Location: Characterization and Interventions for Foodborne Pathogens

Title: Characterization of extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli from human clinical and poultry samples

Author
item Guragain, Manita
item Bagi, Lori
item Liu, Yanhong
item Bosilevac, Joseph

Submitted to: Microorganisms
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/21/2025
Publication Date: 11/15/2025
Citation: Guragain, M., Bagi, L.K., Liu, Y., Bosilevac, J.M. 2025. Characterization of extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli from human clinical and poultry samples. Microorganisms. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms13112603.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms13112603

Interpretive Summary: Extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC) causes a wide range of human infections like urinary tract infection, adult bacteremia, neonatal meningitis, and pneumonia. Despite the high burden of ExPEC on human health, their source is poorly understood. ExPEC are found in food, particularly poultry, but the their impact on human health is unknown. This study collected ExPEC from poultry meat samples and evaluated their antibiotic resistance and virulence potential. The results of this study suggest that ExPEC from poultry meat can colonize the human gut epithelium. The bacteria collected and characterized in this study will be utilized to identify whether food can serve as a source of ExPEC causing human diseases and complications.

Technical Abstract: The ExPEC are a diverse group of E. coli and leading causes of adult bacteremia, neonatal meningitis, pneumonia, and vast majority of urinary tract infections. Despite the high burden of ExPEC on human health, their sources are poorly understood. The ExPEC are present in food, mostly in poultry. Food isolated ExPEC are equipped with abundance of virulence and antibiotic resistance genes and are suggested to have zoonotic potential. However, their impact on food safety is largely unknown. Hence, we isolated ExPEC from poultry meat and characterized these and other ExPEC from poultry and human clinical samples. Overall, sanitizer tolerance and biofilm formation were not common in ExPEC under our test conditions. Antibiotic resistance was identified among ExPEC from both sources, with significantly higher frequency among poultry ExPEC. Overall, 61% of poultry ExPEC were able to adhere to human intestinal cell lines at a level comparable to that of E. coli O157:H7, 5 poultry ExPEC with enhanced adherence. This indicates human gut as a source of high-risk poultry ExPEC, from where they can potentially serve as a source of extraintestinal infections.