A new immunoglobulin-binding protein, EibG, is responsible for the chain-like adhesion phenotype of locus of enterocyte effacement-negative, shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli.

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) are important enteropathogens causing severe diseases such as hemorrhagic colitis and hemolytic-uremic syndrome in humans. The majority of STEC strains of serogroups O157, O26, or O111 associated with severe cases of these diseases possess a pathogenicity island termed the locus of enterocyte effacement (LEE). LEE, which is responsible for the formation of attaching-and-effacing lesions on intestinal epithelial cells, is important for the full virulence of STEC.