Occurrence of phoA and Shiga Toxin genes in Marketed Gandoffli, Ruditapes decussates

Generally, the majority of the food poisoning crisis from seafood comes out due to shellfish consumption, mainly gandofflibecause ofits filter feeders pattern. Many microbes are used as an indicator of the hygienic status of several foods, one of them is Escherichia coli which is used to detect fecal pollution in water and shellfish. Therefore, twenty gandoffli samples were randomly collected from local markets in Ismailia city, Egypt, for evaluation of Enterobacteriaceae counts, and identification of Escherichia. coli and detection of phoA and Shiga toxin genes. The obtained results revealed that the total Enterobacteriaceae count of the gandoffli ranged from 7×102 to 7×105 cfu/g with an average of 5×104 ±3.5×104cfu/g. The occurrence of Enterobacteriaceae members in gandoffli was represented by E. coli (99%), Acinetobacter lwoffii (99%), Enterobacter hormaechei (85%), Klebsiella oxytoca (95%), Stentrophomonas maltophilia (85%), Moraxella lacunata (85%), Achromobacter xyloxidans (93%), and ESBL E. coli (100%). In addition, E. coli isolated from gandoffli were subsequently serologically typed into O103, O55, O 128, O 126, and O157 then confirmed using conventional polymerase chain reaction by the presence of alkaline phosphatase gene. Upon checking virulence genes in E. coli: stx2 was absent in O157 and O103. Also, stx1 was present in O157 and absent in O103. Its should be concluded that gandoffli were exposed to enterobacteriaceae contamination from different sources during handling, storage and distribution. Gandoffli had E coli and their toxin that can pose serious public health hazards to consumers. Strick hygienic measures must be applied through the chain of gandoffli production to ensure their safety for consumer consumptions