EXOone APEC irp2, hlyF

Description

Escherichia coli is a common intestinal bacterium, but certain extraintestinal strains in poultry, known as avian pathogenic E. coli (APEC), carry specific virulence factors associated with systemic disease.
These strains are linked to colibacillosis, characterized by septicemia, respiratory disease and reduced productivity, leading to significant economic losses in poultry production. Detection of virulence-associated genes is essential for proper strain characterization rather than general bacterial identification.
Conventional methods do not allow reliable differentiation between pathogenic and commensal strains. Real-time PCR enables rapid and specific detection of virulence factor genes directly from bacterial isolates.
This assay targets the virulence factors irp2 and hlyF, and is intended exclusively for the characterization of E. coli strains from extraintestinal poultry isolates. It should be used in combination with complementary assays (XAP5 and XAP6) to complete the panel of eight APEC-associated virulence factors. Only amplification signals with Cq <30 should be considered positive for the corresponding virulence factor.