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. 2022 Mar 25;9(4):158.
doi: 10.3390/vetsci9040158.

Phylogeny and Virulence Factors of Escherichia coli Isolated from Dogs with Pyometra

Roberta T Melo  1 , Raquel P Oliveira  2 , Beatryz F Silva  2 , Guilherme P Monteiro  1 , João Paulo E Saut  3 , Letícia R M Costa  1 , Sthéfany Da C Dias  1 , Daise A Rossi  1
Affiliations

Phylogeny and Virulence Factors of Escherichia coli Isolated from Dogs with Pyometra

Roberta T Melo et al. Vet Sci. .

Abstract

We aimed to investigate the occurrence, phylogeny, and virulence of E. coli in the uterine contents and urine of female dogs with pyometra, through the presence of virulence genes and their genetic similarity. Uterine secretions and urine samples from 52 female dogs with pyometra were collected and cultured. Strains identified as E. coli from 25 uterine and 7 urine samples were tested for virulence genes by PCR. Genetic similarity between the isolates was studied using RAPD-PCR. E. coli was observed in 48.07% uterine samples with pyometra and 20.0% urine samples. The strains showed high percentages for the presence of virulence genes: 96.9% had the gene sfa, 59.4% afa, 46.9% pap, 53.1% hly, and 68.75% cnf. Even with the high prevalence of virulence genes, the samples were not submitted to DNA sequencing to confirm the results. Analysis showed high genetic diversity in E. coli, however, strains isolated from the same animal indicate that cystitis and pyometra could be related. Our study indicated the association between E. coli in dogs with pyometra and cases of urinary tract infection and the pathogenic potential of strains increasing with animal age.

Keywords: E. coli; canine pyometra; urine; uterus; virulence genes.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declared no potential conflict of interest concerning the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Dendrogram of 32 E. coli isolates originated from female dogs with pyometra Uberlândia—MG, by RAPD-PCR with primers 1247 and 1290, using the average of experiments with a tolerance of 1.5% and UPGMA method with optimisation of 85% at GelCompar II program, Sint-Martens-Latem, Belgium. Profile 1—a group with 53.8% homology, consisting of two clusters (a and b) with 88.9% and 93.8% of similarity, respectively. Profile 2—a group with 55.9% homology, consisting of two clusters (c and d) with 90.0% and 88.9% similarity, respectively. Profile 3—a group with 56.4% homology, composed of the cluster (e) with 87.3% similarity. Profile 4—a group with 63.9% homology.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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