Colicins G and H and their host strains

1991 ◽  
Vol 37 (10) ◽  
pp. 751-757 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. E. Bradley

Escherichia coli strains CA46(pColG) and CA58(pColH) each apparently synthesized two generally similar bactericidal colicin proteins whose molecular weights were approximately 5 500 and 100 000. These proteins were more resistant to trypsin than representative colicins A, D, E1, and V. The smooth wild-type strains harbouring plasmids pColG and pColH were serotyped O169:NM and O30:NM, respectively, being typically associated with nonpathogenic E. coli of human origin. Rough and semirough variants, which were selected using resistance to novobiocin, were intrinsically insensitive to almost as many colicins (10 tested) as their parents. For this reason the wild-type strains would not be useful for identifying colicins G and H on the basis of immunity. The O antigenic side chains of both wild-type strains shielded three of the six bacteriophage protein receptors tested. Key words: colicin, protein, plasmid, O antigen, bacteriophage.

2002 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 440-443 ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus Woegerbauer ◽  
Bernard Jenni ◽  
Florian Thalhammer ◽  
Wolfgang Graninger ◽  
Heinz Burgmann

ABSTRACT Transfer of plasmid-borne antibiotic resistance genes in Escherichia coli wild-type strains is possible by transformation under naturally occurring conditions in oligotrophic, aquatic environments containing physiologic concentrations of calcium. In contrast, transformation is suppressed in nitrogen-rich body fluids like urine, a common habitat of uropathogenic strains. Current knowledge indicates that transformation of these E. coli wild-type strains is of no relevance for the acquisition of resistance in this clinically important environment.


1981 ◽  
Vol 77 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
H Nikaido ◽  
E Y Rosenberg

Nutrients usually cross the outer membrane of Escherichia coli by diffusion through water-filled channels surrounded by a specific class of protein, porins. In this study, the rates of diffusion of hydrophilic nonelectrolytes, mostly sugars and sugar alcohols, through the porin channels were determined in two systems, (a) vesicles reconstituted from phospholipids and purified porin and (b) intact cells of mutant strains that produce many fewer porin molecules than wild-type strains. The diffusion rates were strongly affected by the size of the solute, even when the size was well within the "exclusion limit" of the channel. In both systems, hexoses and hexose disaccharides diffused through the channel at rates 50-80% and 2-4%, respectively, of that of a pentose, arabinose. Application of the Renkin equation to these data led to the estimate that the pore radius is approximately 0.6 nm, if the pore is assumed to be a hollow cylinder. The results of the study also show that the permeability of the outer membrane of the wild-type E. coli cell to glucose and lactose can be explained by the presence of porin channels, that a significant fraction of these channels must be functional or "open" under our conditions of growth, and that even 10(5) channels per cell could become limiting when E. coli tries to grow at a maximal rate on low concentrations of slowly penetrating solutes, such as disaccharides.


1982 ◽  
Vol 152 (3) ◽  
pp. 1241-1247
Author(s):  
H Berger ◽  
J Hacker ◽  
A Juarez ◽  
C Hughes ◽  
W Goebel

We have cloned the chromosomal hemolysin determinants from Escherichia coli strains belonging to the four O-serotypes O4, O6, O18, and O75. The hemolysin-producing clones were isolated from gene banks of these strains which were constructed by inserting partial Sau3A fragments of chromosomal DNA into the cosmid pJC74. The hemolytic cosmid clones were relatively stable. The inserts were further subcloned either as SalI fragments in pACYC184 or as BamHI-SalI fragments in a recombinant plasmid (pANN202) containing cistron C (hlyC) of the plasmid-encoded hemolysin determinant. Detailed restriction maps of each of these determinants were constructed, and it was found that, despite sharing overall homology, the determinants exhibited minor specific differences in their structure. These appeared to be restricted to cistron A (hlyA), which is the structural gene for hemolysin. In the gene banks of two of these hemolytic strains, we could also identify clones which carried the genetic determinants for the mannose-resistant hemagglutination antigens Vb and VIc. Both of these fimbrial antigens were expressed in the E. coli K-12 clones to an extent similar to that observed in the wild-type strains. These recombinant cosmids were rather unstable, and, in the absence of selection, segregated at a high frequency.


2006 ◽  
Vol 188 (2) ◽  
pp. 599-608 ◽  
Author(s):  
Surtaj Hussain Iram ◽  
John E. Cronan

ABSTRACT Based on its genome sequence, the pathway of β-oxidative fatty acid degradation in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium LT2 has been thought to be identical to the well-characterized Escherichia coli K-12 system. We report that wild-type strains of S. enterica grow on decanoic acid, whereas wild-type E. coli strains cannot. Mutant strains (carrying fadR) of both organisms in which the genes of fatty acid degradation (fad) are expressed constitutively are readily isolated. The S. enterica fadR strains grow more rapidly than the wild-type strains on decanoic acid and also grow well on octanoic and hexanoic acids (which do not support growth of wild-type strains). By contrast, E. coli fadR strains grow well on decanoic acid but grow only exceedingly slowly on octanoic acid and fail to grow at all on hexanoic acid. The two wild-type organisms also differed in the ability to grow on oleic acid when FadR was overexpressed. Under these superrepression conditions, E. coli failed to grow, whereas S. enterica grew well. Exchange of the wild-type fadR genes between the two organisms showed this to be a property of S. enterica rather than of the FadR proteins per se. This difference in growth was attributed to S. enterica having higher cytosolic levels of the inducing ligands, long-chain acyl coenzyme As (acyl-CoAs). The most striking results were the differences in the compositions of CoA metabolites of strains grown with octanoic acid or oleic acid. S. enterica cleanly converted all of the acid to acetyl-CoA, whereas E. coli accumulated high levels of intermediate-chain-length products. Exchange of homologous genes between the two organisms showed that the S. enterica FadE and FadBA enzymes were responsible for the greater efficiency of β-oxidation relative to that of E. coli.


1999 ◽  
Vol 65 (7) ◽  
pp. 3222-3225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darren A. Lytle ◽  
Eugene W. Rice ◽  
Clifford H. Johnson ◽  
Kim R. Fox

ABSTRACT The electrophoretic mobilities (EPMs) of a number ofEscherichia coli O157:H7 and wild-type E. colistrains were measured. The effects of pH and ionic strength on the EPMs were investigated. The EPMs of E. coli O157:H7 strains differed from those of wild-type strains. As the suspension pH decreased, the EPMs of both types of strains increased.


1976 ◽  
Vol 158 (2) ◽  
pp. 451-456 ◽  
Author(s):  
F Markey ◽  
P F Sims ◽  
D G Wild

Escherichia coli strain 15–28 is a mutant which during exponential growth contains large amounts of a ‘47S’ ribonucleoprotein precursor to 50S ribosomes. The ‘47S particles’ are more sensitive to ribonuclease than are 50S ribosomes. The 23 S RNA of 47S particles may be slightly undermethylated, but cannot be distinguished from the 23S RNA of 50S ribosomes by sedimentation or electrophoresis. Isolated particles have 10–15% less protein than do 50S ribosomes; proteins L16, L28 and L33 are absent. Comparison with precursor particles studied by other workers in wild-type strains of E. coli suggests that the assembly of 50S ribosomes in strain 15–28 is atypical.


2015 ◽  
Vol 81 (6) ◽  
pp. 2226-2232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Live L. Nesse ◽  
Kristin Berg ◽  
Lene K. Vestby

ABSTRACTPolyamines are present in all living cells. In bacteria, polyamines are involved in a variety of functions, including biofilm formation, thus indicating that polyamines may have potential in the control of unwanted biofilm. In the present study, the effects of the polyamines norspermidine and spermidine on biofilms of 10 potentially pathogenic wild-type strains ofEscherichia coliserotype O103:H2,Salmonella entericasubsp.entericaserovar Typhimurium, andS. entericaserovar Agona were investigated. We found that exogenously supplied norspermidine and spermidine did not mediate disassembly of preformed biofilm of any of theE. coliandS. entericastrains. However, the polyamines did affect biofilm production. Interestingly, the two species reacted differently to the polyamines. Both polyamines reduced the amount of biofilm formed byE. colibut tended to increase biofilm formation byS. enterica. Whether the effects observed were due to the polyamines specifically targeting biofilm formation, being toxic for the cells, or maybe a combination of the two, is not known. However, there were no indications that the effect was mediated through binding to exopolysaccharides, as earlier suggested forE. coli. Our results indicate that norspermidine and spermidine do not have potential as inhibitors ofS. entericabiofilm. Furthermore, we found that the commercial polyamines used contributed to the higher pH of the test medium. Failure to acknowledge and control this important phenomenon may lead to misinterpretation of the results.


1998 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 160-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
James R. Johnson ◽  
Jennifer J. Brown ◽  
Parvia Ahmed

ABSTRACT Data regarding the hemagglutination (HA) patterns of the three variants (classes I, II, and III) of the Escherichia coliadhesin PapG are conflicting. These HA patterns usually have been assessed for each papG allele separately with recombinant strains in slide HA assays. We rigorously evaluated an alternative microtiter tray HA assay and then used it to assess the HA of four erythrocyte types (human A1P1 and OP1, rabbit, and sheep erythrocytes) by multiple wild-typeE. coli strains representing the four naturally occurring combinations of the papG alleles, i.e., class I plus III, class III only, class II plus III, and class II only. The microtiter tray HA assay displayed significantly better reproducibility of intraobserver (83%) and interobserver (86%) results than did slide HA assays (39 and 73%, respectively). Novel findings from the study of 32 wild-type P-fimbriated strains included reproducible determinations of phenotypic diversity among different papG categories, among strains within each papG category, and from day to day for individual strains. There was also substantial overlap of phenotypes between papG categories I plus III and III only and between II plus III and II only. A class III papG recombinant strain’s HA pattern differed significantly from that of the wild-type class III strains. These data demonstrate that HA phenotypes of wild-type P-fimbriated E. coli strains can be reproducibly assessed by a microtiter HA assay and that they correspond broadly topapG genotype but in a more complex and varied fashion than previously recognized.


2005 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 281-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liqun Xiong ◽  
Yakov Korkhin ◽  
Alexander S. Mankin

ABSTRACT Ketolides represent the latest group of macrolide antibiotics. Tight binding of ketolides to the ribosome appears to correlate with the presence of an extended alkyl-aryl side chain. Recently developed 6,11-bridged bicyclic ketolides extend the spectrum of platforms used to generate new potent macrolides with extended alkyl-aryl side chains. The purpose of the present study was to characterize the site of binding and the action of bridged macrolides in the ribosomes of Escherichia coli. All the bridged macrolides investigated efficiently protected A2058 and A2059 in domain V of 23S rRNA from modification by dimethyl sulfate and U2609 from modification by carbodiimide. In addition, bridged macrolides that carry extended alkyl-aryl side chains protruding from the 6,11 bridge protected A752 in helix 35 of domain II of 23S rRNA from modification by dimethyl sulfate. Bridged macrolides efficiently displaced erythromycin from the ribosome in a competition binding assay. The A2058G mutation in 23S rRNA conferred resistance to the bridged macrolides. The U2609C mutation, which renders E. coli resistant to the previously studied ketolides telithromycin and cethromycin, barely affected cell susceptibility to the bridged macrolides used in this study. The results of the biochemical and genetic studies indicate that in the E. coli ribosome, bridged macrolides bind in the nascent peptide exit tunnel at the site previously described for other macrolide antibiotics. The presence of the side chain promotes the formation of specific interactions with the helix 35 of 23S rRNA.


2003 ◽  
Vol 71 (6) ◽  
pp. 3088-3096 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Redford ◽  
Paula L. Roesch ◽  
Rodney A. Welch

ABSTRACT Extraintestinal Escherichia coli strains cause meningitis, sepsis, urinary tract infection, and other infections outside the bowel. We examined here extraintestinal E. coli strain CFT073 by differential fluorescence induction. Pools of CFT073 clones carrying a CFT073 genomic fragment library in a promoterless gfp vector were inoculated intraperitoneally into mice; bacteria were recovered by lavage 6 h later and then subjected to fluorescence-activated cell sorting. Eleven promoters were found to be active in the mouse but not in Luria-Bertani (LB) broth culture. Three are linked to genes for enterobactin, aerobactin, and yersiniabactin. Three others are linked to the metabolic genes metA, gltB, and sucA, and another was linked to iha, a possible adhesin. Three lie before open reading frames of unknown function. One promoter is associated with degS, an inner membrane protease. Mutants of the in vivo-induced loci were tested in competition with the wild type in mouse peritonitis. Of the mutants tested, only CFT073 degS was found to be attenuated in peritoneal and in urinary tract infection, with virulence restored by complementation. CFT073 degS shows growth similar to that of the wild type at 37°C but is impaired at 43°C or in 3% ethanol LB broth at 37°C. Compared to the wild type, the mutant shows similar serum survival, motility, hemolysis, erythrocyte agglutination, and tolerance to oxidative stress. It also has the same lipopolysaccharide appearance on a silver-stained gel. The basis for the virulence attenuation is unclear, but because DegS is needed for σE activity, our findings implicate σE and its regulon in E. coli extraintestinal pathogenesis.


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