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Thin aggregative fimbriae from diarrheagenic Escherichia coli
S K Collinson1, L Emödy, T J Trust
1Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Victoria, British Columbia.
Journal of Bacteriology
|July 1, 1992
Summary
Diarrheagenic Escherichia coli produce novel aggregative fimbriae. These fimbriae are biochemically related to Salmonella enteritidis fimbriae, suggesting a new class of intergenerically distributed fimbriae named GVVPQ fimbriae.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Bacteriology
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Diarrheagenic Escherichia coli are significant human pathogens.
- Bacterial fimbriae play crucial roles in adhesion and colonization.
- Previous studies have characterized various types of E. coli fimbriae.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the structural and serological properties of unusual fimbriae produced by diarrheagenic E. coli strains.
- To determine the relationship between these E. coli fimbriae and known fimbrial structures from other bacterial species.
Main Methods:
- Depolymerization of fimbriae in formic acid.
- Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) for fimbrin analysis.
- Immunoelectron microscopy of native fimbriae.
- Western blot (immunoblot) analysis.
Main Results:
- Four E. coli strains produced unusual thin aggregative fimbriae.
- These fimbriae showed serological cross-reactivity with SEF 17 fimbriae from Salmonella enteritidis.
- E. coli and S. enteritidis fimbrins shared similar amino acid composition and conserved N-terminal sequences.
- A new type of intergenerically distributed fimbriae, named GVVPQ fimbriae, was identified.
Conclusions:
- E. coli and S. enteritidis produce biochemically related aggregative fimbriae.
- These findings reveal a novel class of fimbriae distributed across different bacterial genera.
- The proposed name GVVPQ fimbriae reflects the conserved N-terminal amino acid sequence.