investigating the ability of biofilm formation and prevalence of genes involved in adhesion in escherichia coli strains isolated from cattle feces

The ability of biofilm-forming bacteria to evade immune responses and resist antibiotic treatment contributes to the emergence and persistence of infectious diseases. so, the aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of biofilm-forming escherichia coli (e. coli) strains in cattle feces and the frequency of four genes that play a role in bacterial attachment and colonization in these isolates. a total of 105 stool samples were collected from seven cattle farms in fars province, iran. stool samples were cultured on macconkey agar and emb agar and e. coli characteristic isolates were confirmed by biochemical tests. microtiter plate method and crystal violet dye were used to detect the biofilm formation ability of e. coli isolates. the frequency of afa, fimh, papc, csga genes in the biofilm-forming e. coli was investigated by the pcr method. among 105 e. coli isolates, 40 isolates (38.1%) were able to form biofilm. of the biofilm-formers, 2 (5%) were strong biofilm-formers, 12 (30%) were moderate biofilm-formers, and 26 (65%) were weak biofilm-formers. in the biofilm-former e. coli isolates, afa gene was not detected, but fimh gene (n=38, 95%), csga gene (n= 35, 87.5%) and papc gene (n=19, 47.5%) were detected. the presence of biofilm-forming e. coli isolates with a frequency of nearly 40% in cattle feces can be a significant risk to human health, because these bacteria can be transmitted to humans through contaminated water or food.