Detection of 987p positive Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli by Polymerase Chain Reaction

p fimbriae is one of the adhesive fimbriae antigens of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli. A polymerase chain reaction(PCR) method was developed to detect 987p positive Escherichia coli by means of amplifing 987p fimbriae gene. The primer used in this assay was designed from the conserved section of 987p structural gene sequences. The detection specificity of this PCR method was confirmed with PCR assay of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli reference strains, Salmonella typhimurium, Streptococcus, Staphylococcus aureus as well as Pasteurella pneumotropica. 20 Escherichia coli strains isolated from 1 to 7 days old diarrhea piglets were detected with this PCR method, and one of these is positive for the enterotoxigenic property. And the same result was achieved with slide agglutination.The results demonstrated that this PCR was specific and sensitive. It will be useful for identification of 987p positive Escherichia coli strains.