Glycopeptide derived from hen egg ovomucin has the ability to bind enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7.

Ovomucin glycopeptide (OGP) was prepared by size exclusion chromatography after Pronase digestion of hen egg ovomucin, and the binding of OGP to foodborne pathogens (Bacillus cereus,Clostridium perfringens, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella enteritidis, Salmonella typhimurium, and Staphylococcus aureus) was investigaed. Binding assays with biotinylated bacteria as probes in microtiter plates showed that OGP bound to only E. coli O157:H7 among these foodborne pathogens. Periodate treatment markedly reduced the binding ability, indicating that E. coli O157:H7 bound to carbohydrate moieties of OGP. Lectin blot analysis with Maackia amurensis (MAA) and Sambucus nigra (SNA), which are specific for oligosaccharides containing sialic acid, revealed their binding sites in OGP were similar to the E. coli O157:H7 binding sites that were probed with biotinylated E. coli O157:H7 after Western blotting of OGP. Sialydase treatment of OGP abolished its ability to bind E. coli O157:H7, demonstrating that sialic acid played an important role in the binding. These results suggest that OGP has E. coli O157:H7-specific binding sites that consist of sialic acid. On the basis of these properties, OGP has the potential to be an ingredient with a protective effect against E. coli O157:H7 infection and to be a novel probe for the detection of E. coli O157:H7 in the food hygiene field.