Bacteriophage-encoded shiga toxin gene in atypical bacterial host

Twenty canine fecal samples were collected, processed for total and bacterial fraction DNA, and screened by PCR for the stx gene. The stx gene was detected in the total and bacterial fraction DNA of one fecal sample. Bacterial isolates were then cultivated from the stx-positive fecal sample. Eighty nine of these canine fecal bacterial isolates were screened by PCR for the stx gene. The stx gene was detected in five of these isolates. Sequencing and phylogenetic analyses of 16S rRNA gene PCR products from the canine fecal bacterial isolates indicated that they were Enterococcus and not E. coli.The bacteriophage-encoded stx gene was found in multiple species of bacteria cultivated from canine fecal samples gathered at the shoreline of the Dog Beach area of Ocean Beach in San Diego, California. The canine fecal bacteria carrying the stx gene were not the typical E. coli host and were instead identified through phylogenetic analyses as Enterococcus. This suggests a large degree of horizontal gene transfer of exotoxin genes in recreational waters.Each year millions of people flock to the beaches of San Diego County for fun in the sun, sand, and surf. Monitoring water quality at these beaches is therefore extremely important to limit the possibility of illness from contact with these recreational waterways. Through San Diego County's Department of Health (DEH), the Ocean and Bay Recreational Water Program (OBRWP) is responsible for monitoring the water quality of San Diego's recreational waterways [1]. Most beaches in San Diego County are relatively clean, with little to no advisories or beach closures, but there are also areas prone to advisories and/or beach closures because of known sources of pollution [1,2]. Posted warning signs, a daily water quality report hotline, and an internet podcast are some of the ways the OBRWP informs the public about general advisories or beach closures they have issued as a result of elevated bacterial levels in the water [1]. Typical so