scholarly journals Extended Phylogeny and Extraintestinal Virulence Potential of Commensal Escherichia coli from Piglets and Sows

Author(s):  
Ewa Bok ◽  
Aleksandra Kożańska ◽  
Justyna Mazurek-Popczyk ◽  
Magdalena Wojciech ◽  
Katarzyna Baldy-Chudzik

Commensal Escherichia coli, naturally occurring in the intestinal tract, can be the origin of extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC) strains. ExPEC causes high mortality and significant economic losses in the swine industry in several countries and poses a serious threat to public health worldwide. The aim of this study was to analyze the extended phylogenetic structure and extraintestinal virulence potential in two groups of commensal E. coli isolates from post-weaning piglets and sows. The phylogenetic assignment to eight groups was determined using the revised Clermont phylogenetic typing method in quadruplex PCR. Identification of extraintestinal virulence genes (VGs) and adhesin operon genes was performed using multiplex or simplex PCR. The revised phylogenetic assignment allowed us to distinguish E. coli with significantly higher (groups C and F) or lower (group E) virulence potential in isolates from piglets. The majority of the tested VGs occurred more frequently in isolates from piglets than from sows, with statistically significant differences for seven genes: fimH, papAH, iutA, iroN, ompT, traT, and iss. Complete operons for type I and P fimbriae significantly prevailed among E. coli from piglets. This study provides insight into the extended phylogenetic structure of porcine commensal E. coli and showed that these strains, particularly from piglets, constitute a considerable reservoir of extraintestinal VGs and may increase the potential risk of extraintestinal infections.

AMB Express ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pengpeng Xia ◽  
Yunping Wu ◽  
Siqi Lian ◽  
Guomei Quan ◽  
Yiting Wang ◽  
...  

AbstractEnterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) F4ac is a major constraint to the development of the pig industry, which is causing newborn and post-weaning piglets diarrhea. Previous studies proved that FaeG is the major fimbrial subunit of F4ac E. coli and efficient for bacterial adherence and receptor recognition. Here we show that the faeG deletion attenuates both the clinical symptoms of F4ac infection and the F4ac-induced intestinal mucosal damage in piglets. Antibody microarray analysis and the detection of mRNA expression using porcine neonatal jejunal IPEC-J2 cells also determined that the absence of FaeG subunit alleviated the F4ac promoted apoptosis in the intestinal epithelial cells. Thus, targeted depletion of FaeG is still beneficial for the prevention or treatment of F4ac infection.


1991 ◽  
Vol 37 (5) ◽  
pp. 407-410
Author(s):  
Mônica A. M. Vieira ◽  
Beatriz E. C. Guth ◽  
Tânia A. T. Gomes

DNA probes that identify genes coding for heat-labile type I (LT-I) and heat-stable type 1 (ST-I) enterotoxins, enteropathogenic Escherichia coli adherence factor (EAF), and Shigella-like, invasiveness (INV) are used to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of stool blots in comparison with the sensitivity and specificity of colony blots in detecting enteropathoghens. The sensitivities of the probes in stool blots are 91.7% for the LT-I probe, 76.9% for the ST-I probes, 78.9% for the EAF probe, and 45.5% for the INV probe. The specificity of all probes is higher than 95%. In general, the stool blot method identifies as many if not more LT-I-, ST-I-, and EAF-producing E. coli infections than the colony blots. Key words: DNA probes, stool blots, enteropathogens, diagnosis.


2016 ◽  
Vol 473 (21) ◽  
pp. 3923-3936 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dani Zalem ◽  
João P. Ribeiro ◽  
Annabelle Varrot ◽  
Michael Lebens ◽  
Anne Imberty ◽  
...  

The structurally related AB5-type heat-labile enterotoxins of Escherichia coli and Vibrio cholerae are classified into two major types. The type I group includes cholera toxin (CT) and E. coli LT-I, whereas the type II subfamily comprises LT-IIa, LT-IIb and LT-IIc. The carbohydrate-binding specificities of LT-IIa, LT-IIb and LT-IIc are distinctive from those of cholera toxin and E. coli LT-I. Whereas CT and LT-I bind primarily to the GM1 ganglioside, LT-IIa binds to gangliosides GD1a, GD1b and GM1, LT-IIb binds to the GD1a and GT1b gangliosides, and LT-IIc binds to GM1, GM2, GM3 and GD1a. These previous studies of the binding properties of type II B-subunits have been focused on ganglio core chain gangliosides. To further define the carbohydrate binding specificity of LT-IIb B-subunits, we have investigated its binding to a collection of gangliosides and non-acid glycosphingolipids with different core chains. A high-affinity binding of LT-IIb B-subunits to gangliosides with a neolacto core chain, such as Neu5Gcα3- and Neu5Acα3-neolactohexaosylceramide, and Neu5Gcα3- and Neu5Acα3-neolactooctaosylceramide was detected. An LT-IIb-binding ganglioside was isolated from human small intestine and characterized as Neu5Acα3-neolactohexaosylceramide. The crystal structure of the B-subunit of LT-IIb with the pentasaccharide moiety of Neu5Acα3-neolactotetraosylceramide (Neu5Ac-nLT: Neu5Acα3Galβ4GlcNAcβ3Galβ4Glc) was determined providing the first information for a sialic-binding site in this subfamily, with clear differences from that of CT and LT-I.


2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 196-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole M. Masters ◽  
Aaron Wiegand ◽  
Jasmin M. Thompson ◽  
Tara L. Vollmerhausen ◽  
Eva Hatje ◽  
...  

We investigated Escherichia coli populations in a metropolitan river after an extreme flood event. Between nine and 15 of the 23 selected sites along the river were sampled fortnightly over three rounds. In all, 307 E. coli were typed using the PhP typing method and were grouped into common (C) or single (S) biochemical phenotypes (BPTs). A representative from each of the 31 identified C-BPTs was tested for 58 virulence genes (VGs) associated with intestinal and extra-intestinal E. coli, resistance to 22 antibiotics, production of biofilm and cytotoxicity to Vero cells. The number of E. coli in the first sampling round was significantly (P < 0.01) higher than subsequent rounds, whereas the number of VGs was significantly (P < 0.05) higher in isolates from the last sampling round when compared to previous rounds. Comparison of the C-BPTs with an existing database from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in the same catchment showed that 40.6% of the river isolates were identical to the WWTP isolates. The relatively high number of VGs and antibiotic resistance among the C-BPTs suggests possessing and retaining these genes may provide niche advantages for those naturalised and/or persistent E. coli populations which may pose a health risk to the community.


Author(s):  
Shiyi Tian ◽  
Jue Wang ◽  
Jing Wang ◽  
Weiyun Zhu

Recently, we have proved that the early-life galactooligosaccharides (GOS) intervention could improve the colonic function by altering the bacterial composition in the suckling piglets. However, whether the early-life GOS (ELG) intervention could have a long influence of the colonic microbiota, and the ELG and post-weaning GOS (PWG) combined intervention would have an interaction effect on maintaining colonic health in weaning piglets remain to be explored. Thus in this study, we illustrated the differential effect of ELG and PWG intervention on colonic microbiota and colonic function of weaning piglets. Our results showed that both the ELG and PWG intervention decreased the diarrhea frequency of weaning piglets, while the PWG intervention increased colonic indexes. After 16S rRNA MiSeq sequencing of gut bacteria belonged to colonic niches (mucosa and digesta), the PWG increased the α-diversity of colonic mucosal bacteria was revealed. In addition, we found both the ELG and PWG intervention enriched the abundance of short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) producer in different colonic niches and increased total SCFAs concentrations in colonic digesta. These changes selectively modulated the mRNA expression of pattern recognition receptors and barrier proteins in the colonic mucosa. Of note, the combined effect of ELG and PWG effectively enhanced colonic SCFAs producer enrichment and up-regulated the butyrate concentration. Meanwhile, the gene expression of MyD88-NFκB signaling and the pro-inflammatory cytokines contents were markedly reduced under the combined effect of ELG and PWG. Importance Reducing the disorders of gut ecosystem is an effective way to relieve weaning stresses of piglets and save economic losses in the modern swine industry. To this end, prebiotics were often added in diet during the weaning transition. In present study, we demonstrated that the ELG and PWG intervention had shown different effects on the bacterial composition of different colonic niches and colonic function in the weaning piglets. Especially under the combined effect of ELG and PWG intervention, the gene expression of MyD88-NFκB signaling and the contents of pro-inflammation cytokines decreased with the increasing concentration of butyrate, which is one of the important microbial metabolites in the colon of weaning piglets. These findings further provided new insights into nutritional interventions to alleviate intestinal ecosystem dysbiosis and gut dysfunction in the piglets during the weaning transition.


1999 ◽  
Vol 37 (5) ◽  
pp. 1274-1279 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Arnold ◽  
Lou Metherell ◽  
Geraldine Willshaw ◽  
Anthony Maggs ◽  
John Stanley

The fluorescent amplified-fragment length polymorphism (FAFLP) assay potentially amplifies a unique set of genome fragments from each bacterial clone. It uses stringently hybridizing primers which carry a fluorescent label. Precise fragment sizing is achieved by the inclusion of an internal size standard in every lane. Therefore, a unique genotype identifier(s) can be found in the form of fragments of precise size or sizes, and these can be generated reproducibly. In order to evaluate the potential of FAFLP as an epidemiological typing method with a valid phylogenetic basis, we applied it to 87 strains ofEscherichia coli. These comprised the EcoR collection, which has previously been classified by multilocus enzyme electrophoresis (MLEE) and which represents the genetic diversity of the species E. coli, plus 15 strains of the clinically important serogroup O157. FAFLP with an unlabelled nonselectiveEcoRI primer (Eco+0) and a labelled selectiveMseI primer (Mse+TA) gave strain-specific profiles. Fragments of identical sizes (in base pairs) were assumed to be identical, and the genetic distances between the strains were calculated. A phylogenetic tree derived from measure of distance correlated closely with the MLEE groupings of the EcoR collection and placed the verocytotoxin-producing O157 strains on an outlier branch. Our data indicate that FAFLP is suitable for epidemiological investigation of E. coli infection, providing well-defined and reproducible identifiers of genotype for each strain. Since FAFLP objectively samples the whole genome, each strain or isolate can be assigned a place within the broad context of the whole species and can also be subjected to a high-resolution comparison with closely related strains to investigate epidemiological clonality.


2019 ◽  
Vol 295 (11) ◽  
pp. 3403-3414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anita Ramachandran ◽  
Lesley Summerville ◽  
Brian A. Learn ◽  
Lily DeBell ◽  
Scott Bailey

CRISPR-Cas systems provide bacteria with adaptive immunity against viruses. During spacer adaptation, the Cas1-Cas2 complex selects fragments of foreign DNA, called prespacers, and integrates them into CRISPR arrays in an orientation that provides functional immunity. Cas4 is involved in both the trimming of prespacers and the cleavage of protospacer adjacent motif (PAM) in several type I CRISPR-Cas systems, but how the prespacers are processed in systems lacking Cas4, such as the type I-E and I-F systems, is not understood. In Escherichia coli, which has a type I-E system, Cas1-Cas2 preferentially selects prespacers with 3′ overhangs via specific recognition of a PAM, but how these prespacers are integrated in a functional orientation in the absence of Cas4 is not known. Using a biochemical approach with purified proteins, as well as integration, prespacer protection, sequencing, and quantitative PCR assays, we show here that the bacterial 3′–5′ exonucleases DnaQ and ExoT can trim long 3′ overhangs of prespacers and promote integration in the correct orientation. We found that trimming by these exonucleases results in an asymmetric intermediate, because Cas1-Cas2 protects the PAM sequence, which helps to define spacer orientation. Our findings implicate the E. coli host 3′–5′ exonucleases DnaQ and ExoT in spacer adaptation and reveal a mechanism by which spacer orientation is defined in E. coli.


2019 ◽  
Vol 65 (9) ◽  
pp. 691-702 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Gou ◽  
Weiqi Liu ◽  
Jing Jing Wang ◽  
Ling Tan ◽  
Bin Hong ◽  
...  

Generally, cell motility and biofilm formation are tightly regulated. The QseBC two-component system (TCS) serves as a bridge for bacterial signal transmission, in which the protein QseB acts as a response regulator bacterial motility, biofilm formation, and virulence. The mechanisms that govern the interaction between QseBC and their functions have been studied in general, but the regulatory role of QseB on bacterial motility and biofilm formation is unknown. In this study, the CRISPR-Cas9 system was used to construct the Escherichia coli MG1655ΔqseB strain (strain ΔqseB), and the effects of the qseB gene on changes in motility and biofilm formation in the wild type (WT) were determined. The motility assay results showed that the ΔqseB strain had higher (p < 0.05) motility than the WT strain. However, there was no difference in the formation of biofilm between the ΔqseB and WT strains. Real-time quantitative PCR illustrated that deletion of qseB in the WT strain downregulated expression of the type I pili gene fimA. Therefore, we might conclude that the ΔqseB induced the downregulation of fimA, which led to asynchrony between motility and biofilm formation in E. coli, providing new insight into the functional importance of QseB in regulating cell motility and biofilm formation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 86 (14) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dongchang Sun ◽  
Xudan Mao ◽  
Mingyue Fei ◽  
Ziyan Chen ◽  
Tingheng Zhu ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Working mechanisms of CRISPR-Cas systems have been intensively studied. However, far less is known about how they are regulated. The histone-like nucleoid-structuring protein H-NS binds the promoter of cas genes (Pcas) and suppresses the type I-E CRISPR-Cas system in Escherichia coli. Although the H-NS paralogue StpA also binds Pcas, its role in regulating the CRISPR-Cas system remains unidentified. Our previous work established that E. coli is able to take up double-stranded DNA during natural transformation. Here, we investigated the function of StpA in regulating the type I-E CRISPR-Cas system against natural transformation of E. coli. We first documented that although the activated type I-E CRISPR-Cas system, due to hns deletion, interfered with CRISPR-Cas-targeted plasmid transfer, stpA inactivation restored the level of natural transformation. Second, we showed that inactivating stpA reduced the transcriptional activity of Pcas. Third, by comparing transcriptional activities of the intact Pcas and the Pcas with a disrupted H-NS binding site in the hns and hns stpA null deletion mutants, we demonstrated that StpA activated transcription of cas genes by binding to the same site as H-NS in Pcas. Fourth, by expressing StpA with an arabinose-inducible promoter, we confirmed that StpA expressed at a low level stimulated the activity of Pcas. Finally, by quantifying the level of mature CRISPR RNA (crRNA), we demonstrated that StpA was able to promote the amount of crRNA. Taken together, our work establishes that StpA serves as a transcriptional activator in regulating the type I-E CRISPR-Cas system against natural transformation of E. coli. IMPORTANCE StpA is normally considered a molecular backup of the nucleoid-structuring protein H-NS, which was reported as a transcriptional repressor of the type I-E CRISPR-Cas system in Escherichia coli. However, the role of StpA in regulating the type I-E CRISPR-Cas system remains elusive. Our previous work uncovered a new route for double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) entry during natural transformation of E. coli. In this study, we show that StpA plays a role opposite to that of its paralogue H-NS in regulating the type I-E CRISPR-Cas system against natural transformation of E. coli. Our work not only expands our knowledge on CRISPR-Cas-mediated adaptive immunity against extracellular nucleic acids but also sheds new light on understanding the complex regulation mechanism of the CRISPR-Cas system. Moreover, the finding that paralogues StpA and H-NS share a DNA binding site but play opposite roles in transcriptional regulation indicates that higher-order compaction of bacterial chromatin by histone-like proteins could switch prokaryotic transcriptional modes.


mBio ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sagi Huja ◽  
Yaara Oren ◽  
Eva Trost ◽  
Elzbieta Brzuszkiewicz ◽  
Dvora Biran ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTHere we present an extensive genomic and genetic analysis of Escherichia coli strains of serotype O78 that represent the major cause of avian colisepticemia, an invasive infection caused by avian pathogenicEscherichia coli(APEC) strains. It is associated with high mortality and morbidity, resulting in significant economic consequences for the poultry industry. To understand the genetic basis of the virulence of avian septicemic E. coli, we sequenced the entire genome of a clinical isolate of serotype O78—O78:H19 ST88 isolate 789 (O78-9)—and compared it with three publicly available APEC O78 sequences and one complete genome of APEC serotype O1 strain. Although there was a large variability in genome content between the APEC strains, several genes were conserved, which are potentially critical for colisepticemia. Some of these genes are present in multiple copies per genome or code for gene products with overlapping function, signifying their importance. A systematic deletion of each of these virulence-related genes identified three systems that are conserved in all septicemic strains examined and are critical for serum survival, a prerequisite for septicemia. These are the plasmid-encoded protein, the defective ETT2 (E. colitype 3 secretion system 2) type 3 secretion system ETT2sepsis, and iron uptake systems. Strain O78-9 is the only APEC O78 strain that also carried the regulon coding for yersiniabactin, the iron binding system of theYersiniahigh-pathogenicity island. Interestingly, this system is the only one that cannot be complemented by other iron uptake systems under iron limitation and in serum.IMPORTANCEAvian colisepticemia is a severe systemic disease of birds causing high morbidity and mortality and resulting in severe economic losses. The bacteria associated with avian colisepticemia are highly antibiotic resistant, making antibiotic treatment ineffective, and there is no effective vaccine due to the multitude of serotypes involved. To understand the disease and work out strategies to combat it, we performed an extensive genomic and genetic analysis of Escherichia coli strains of serotype O78, the major cause of the disease. We identified several potential virulence factors, conserved in all the colisepticemic strains examined, and determined their contribution to growth in serum, an absolute requirement for septicemia. These findings raise the possibility that specific vaccines or drugs can be developed against these critical virulence factors to help combat this economically important disease.


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