scholarly journals Gene Cluster for Assembly of Pilus Colonization Factor Antigen III of Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli

2001 ◽  
Vol 69 (9) ◽  
pp. 5864-5873 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tooru Taniguchi ◽  
Yukihiro Akeda ◽  
Ayako Haba ◽  
Yoko Yasuda ◽  
Koichiro Yamamoto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Nucleotide Sequence ◽  
Gene Cluster ◽  
Enterotoxigenic Escherichia Coli ◽  
Human Colon Carcinoma Cell ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Colonization Factor ◽  
Type Iv ◽  
K 12 ◽  
Factor Antigen

ABSTRACT The assembly of pilus colonization factor antigen III (CFA/III) of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) requires the processing of CFA/III major pilin (CofA) by a prepilin peptidase (CofP), similar to other type IV pilus formation systems. CofA is produced initially as a 26.5-kDa preform pilin (prepilin) and then processed to a 20.5-kDa mature pilin by CofP which is predicted to be localized in the inner membrane. In the present experiment, we determined the nucleotide sequence of the whole region for CFA/III formation and identified a cluster of 14 genes, includingcofA and cofP. Several proteins encoded bycof genes were similar to previously described proteins, such as the toxin-coregulated pili of Vibrio cholerae and the bundle-forming pili of enteropathogenic E. coli. The G+C content of the cof gene cluster was 37%, which was significantly lower than the average for the E. coli genome (50%). The introduction of a recombinant plasmid containing thecof gene cluster into the E. coli K-12 strain conferred CFA/III biogenesis and the ability of adhesion to the human colon carcinoma cell line Caco-2. This is the first report of a complete nucleotide sequence of the type IV pili found in human ETEC, and our results provide a useful model for studying the molecular mechanism of CFA/III biogenesis and the role of CFA/III in ETEC infection.

scholarly journals Identification of Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli Harboring Longus Type IV Pilus Gene by DNA Amplification

2000 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 1767-1771 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zita Gutiérrez-Cázarez ◽  
Firdausi Qadri ◽  
M. John Albert ◽  
Jorge A. Girón
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Dna Amplification ◽  
Epidemiological Studies ◽  
Enterotoxigenic Escherichia Coli ◽  
Type Iv Pilus ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Colonization Factor ◽  
Type Iv ◽  
Mexican Children ◽  
Enterotoxin Genes

DNA amplification of lngA, the structural gene of longus type IV pilus produced by human enterotoxigenicEscherichia coli (ETEC) was achieved by the use of specific oligonucleotide primers designed from the nucleotide sequence oflngA. A 630-bp fragment representing the entirelngA gene was amplified in eight prototype strains previously characterized as longus positive. Five ETEC strains producing colonization factor antigen III (CFA III) (also a type IV pilus) were also positive by PCR, confirming the DNA homology between CFA III and longus. None of the non-ETEC and non-E. colienteropathogens studied showed the 0.63-kbp amplicon. The procedure thus detected only ETEC strains harboring type IV pili genes with or without other colonization factors. Except for five lngAPCR-positive, probe-positive strains, all lngA PCR-positive strains produced the pilin as demonstrated by immunoblotting. To test the amplification procedure in a clinical setting, a collection of 264 fresh clinical E. coli strains isolated from 88 Mexican children with diarrhea was screened by PCR. Among 82 ETEC isolates found, 30 (36.5%) were lngA PCR-positive. Twenty-seven percent of the children shed ETEC that possessed lngA. In parallel with DNA probes or PCR protocols to detect enterotoxin genes, the lngA PCR method may prove useful for detection of ETEC harboring type IV pilus genes in epidemiological studies.

scholarly journals The Putrescine Importer PuuP of Escherichia coli K-12

2009 ◽  
Vol 191 (8) ◽  
pp. 2776-2782 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shin Kurihara ◽  
Yuichi Tsuboi ◽  
Shinpei Oda ◽  
Hyeon Guk Kim ◽  
Hidehiko Kumagai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Gene Cluster ◽  
Growth Phase ◽  
Exponential Growth ◽  
Minimal Medium ◽  
Exponential Growth Phase ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Genes Encoding ◽  
K 12 ◽  
Utilization Pathway

ABSTRACT The Puu pathway is a putrescine utilization pathway involving gamma-glutamyl intermediates. The genes encoding the enzymes of the Puu pathway form a gene cluster, the puu gene cluster, and puuP is one of the genes in this cluster. In Escherichia coli, three putrescine importers, PotFGHI, PotABCD, and PotE, were discovered in the 1990s and have been studied; however, PuuP had not been discovered previously. This paper shows that PuuP is a novel putrescine importer whose kinetic parameters are equivalent to those of the polyamine importers discovered previously. A puuP + strain absorbed up to 5 mM putrescine from the medium, but a ΔpuuP strain did not. E. coli strain MA261 has been used in previous studies of polyamine transporters, but PuuP had not been identified previously. It was revealed that the puuP gene of MA261 was inactivated by a point mutation. When E. coli was grown on minimal medium supplemented with putrescine as the sole carbon or nitrogen source, only PuuP among the polyamine importers was required. puuP was expressed strongly when putrescine was added to the medium or when the puuR gene, which encodes a putative repressor, was deleted. When E. coli was grown in M9-tryptone medium, PuuP was expressed mainly in the exponential growth phase, and PotFGHI was expressed independently of the growth phase.

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