Growth of Escherichia coli in the presence of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole facilitates detection of Shiga-like toxin producing strains by colony blot assay

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Abstract
Subinhibitory concentrations of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole increased the total yield of Shiga-like toxin (SLT), produced by Shigella dysenteria 1 and by enterophathogenic and enterohemorrhagic strains of Escherichia coli. Stimulation of SLT synthesis by trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole was demonstrated by an increase in cytotoxic activity for HeLa cells and the diameter of the zone formed around bacterial colonies probed with monoclonal antibodies to SLT. Thus, supplementation of culture media with trimetroprimsulfamethoxazol will facilitate SLT purification and detection of SLT-producing bacteria.