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<OL> <LI> Discover SNP markers to unequivocally define clinical genotypes and bovine-biased genotypes of E. coli O157:H7. <LI> Use the SNP markers for retrospective analyses of the response of clinical genotypes to key pre-harvest management strategies and interventions for control of E. coli O157:H7. <LI> Develop outreach programs to communicate emerging information about clinical and bovine-biased genotypes to producers, veterinarians, the public health community and mass-media science writes personnel and policy makers / policy influencers.
Non-Technical Summary: E. coli O157 is a bacteria that lives normally in cattle without causing any illness, but which causes severe diarrhea and other diseases when it infects humans. Most human infections are acquired from eating contaminated food or drinking contaminated water. Recently, it has been discovered that only about half of the strain types of this bacterium in cattle are capable of causing human illness. The main effort of this research is to determine if the management techniques used in cattle farming to reduce E. coli O157:H7 infection work on the strains of E. coli O157:H7 most involved in human illness. This work is necessary to ensure that the control measures applied to cattle are working on the strains of the bacterium that cause human illness. The project will include big efforts to collect and summarize the best known control methods to reduce the impact of E. coli O157:H7, and to communicate this information to critical stakeholders including producers, veterinarians, public health officials, and science writers and journalists, to ensure the most accurate information is readily available to all. <P> Approach: 1. 454-Titanium sequencing of pooled genomic DNA from bovine biased isolates (N=30) of E. coli O157:H7. 2. Bioinformatics to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms of backbone genes. 3. SNP analyses of panels of CG and BBG to identify lineage-specific SNPs for the two principal CG and three principal BBG lineages. 4. Application of lineage specific SNPs to retrospective analyses of the effects of management interventions designed to reduce E. coli O157:H7 carriage by cattle, in order to confirm the effects of these interventions specifically on clinical genotypes. 5. Conduct two workshops designed to integrate and consolidate scientific information about a)The complexity of EcO157 epidemiology (risk factors and interventions for), b)How food safety policy is created and enforced. c) How to improve the ability of participants to communicate the complexity of EcO157 epidemiology, and d) How to present accurate information and dispel perpetuated misstatements about EcO157 on-farm control. 6. Prepare and publish and extensive literature review and extension fact-sheets about the current state of on-farm interventions for control of E. coli O157:H7. 7. Establish three web-based continuing education programs, one for public health officials, one for veterinarian, and one for science writers. Evaluation of the increased knowledge resulting from these efforts will be systematically obtained through course feedback and from evaluation of learning outcomes.