{
  "id": 8733348,
  "title": "Varied influence of curli on Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O157, O26, O111 biofilm formation and animal cell adherence.",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/20/varied-influence-of-curli-on-shiga-toxin-producing-escherichia-coli",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-09-20T00:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "bioRxiv",
    "slug": "biorxiv",
    "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.15.751941v1?rss=1"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) bacteria can survive in cattle and colonize their recto-anal junction, posing a risk for transmission. A new study investigates the link between curli proteins, biofilm formation, and how well STEC bacteria stick to bovine recto-anal junction (RAJ) squamous epithelial cells. Thirty different STEC isolates were tested for their ability to adhere to these cells under various growth conditions. The results showed that O157 and O111 STEC isolates generally adhered strongly, while O26 isolates adhered more diffusely. Environmental biofilms formed by O111 isolates were the strongest, but the type of biofilm formation did not always match up with how well the bacteria stuck to the RAJ cells. Biofilm formation also decreased when grown in DMEM-LG at different temperatures, even among strains that formed strong environmental biofilms. The study found that differences in Shiga toxin genes and expression did not explain the main patterns of bacterial adherence to RAJ cells. This suggests that environmental conditions and attachment to host cells are separate traits, and that other strain- and serotype-specific factors likely play a role in how well STEC bacteria can adhere to bovine epithelial cells.",
  "summary": "Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) persist in cattle and can colonize the bovine recto-anal junction, making it an important reservoir for transmission. Curli are extracellular amyloid fibers associated with biofilm formation and environmental persistence, but their contribution to STEC adherence to bovine epithelial cells is unclear. This study examined the relationship between curli…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "bioRxiv",
        "title": "Closed-loop steering locates an evolutionary barrier to multidrug resistance in Escherichia coli",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/18/closed-loop-steering-locates-an-evolutionary-barrier-to-multidrug",
        "published": "2026-09-18T00:00:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}