This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Wang, L. Articles by Reeves, P. R. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Wang, L. Articles by Reeves, P. R.

Species-Wide Variation in the Escherichia coli Flagellin (H-Antigen) Gene

Lei Wang, Deborah Rothemund, Heather Curd, and Peter R. Reeves^*

School of Molecular and Microbial Biosciences (GO8), The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia

Received 18 November 2002/ Accepted 17 February 2003

Escherichia coli is a clonal species. The best-understood components of its clonal variation are the flagellar (H) and polysaccharide (O) antigens, both well documented since the mid-1930s because of their use in serotyping. Flagellin is the protein subunit of the flagellum that carries H-antigen specificity. We show that 43 of the 54 H-antigen specificities of E. coli map to the flagellin gene at fliC and sequenced all 43 forms and confirmed specificity of each by cloning and expression. This is, to our knowledge, the first time that all known forms of such a highly polymorphic gene have been fully sequenced and characterized for any species. The established distinction between a highly variable central region and more conserved flanking regions is upheld. The sequences fall into two groups, one of which may be derived from the fliC gene of the E. coli/Salmonella enterica common ancestor, the other perhaps obtained by lateral transfer since species divergence. Comparison of sequences revealed that both horizontal DNA transfer and fixation of mutations under diversifying selection pressure contributed to polymorphism in this locus.

Present address: College of Life Science, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Feng, L., Liu, B., Liu, Y., Ratiner, Y. A., Hu, B., Li, D., Zong, X., Xiong, W., Wang, L. (2008). A Genomic Islet Mediates Flagellar Phase Variation in Escherichia coli Strains Carrying the Flagellin-Specifying Locus flk. J. Bacteriol. 190: 4470-4477 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• McNeilly, T. N., Naylor, S. W., Mahajan, A., Mitchell, M. C., McAteer, S., Deane, D., Smith, D. G. E., Low, J. C., Gally, D. L., Huntley, J. F. (2008). Escherichia coli O157:H7 Colonization in Cattle following Systemic and Mucosal Immunization with Purified H7 Flagellin. Infect. Immun. 76: 2594-2602 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Li, G., Ewers, C., Laturnus, C., Diehl, I., Alt, K., Dai, J., Antao, E.-M., Schnetz, K., Wieler, L. H. (2008). Characterization of a yjjQ mutant of avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC). Microbiology 154: 1082-1093 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Octavia, S., Lan, R. (2007). Single-Nucleotide-Polymorphism Typing and Genetic Relationships of Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhi Isolates. J. Clin. Microbiol. 45: 3795-3801 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Ballmer, K., Korczak, B. M., Kuhnert, P., Slickers, P., Ehricht, R., Hachler, H. (2007). Fast DNA Serotyping of Escherichia coli by Use of an Oligonucleotide Microarray. J. Clin. Microbiol. 45: 370-379 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Beutin, L., Strauch, E. (2007). Identification of Sequence Diversity in the Escherichia coli fliC Genes Encoding Flagellar Types H8 and H40 and Its Use in Typing of Shiga Toxin-Producing E. coli O8, O22, O111, O174, and O179 Strains. J. Clin. Microbiol. 45: 333-339 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Guttman, D. S., Gropp, S. J., Morgan, R. L., Wang, P. W. (2006). Diversifying Selection Drives the Evolution of the Type III Secretion System Pilus of Pseudomonas syringae. Mol Biol Evol 23: 2342-2354 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Ramos Moreno, A. C., Cabilio Guth, B. E., Baquerizo Martinez, M. (2006). Can the fliC PCR-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism Technique Replace Classic Serotyping Methods for Characterizing the H Antigen of Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli Strains?. J. Clin. Microbiol. 44: 1453-1458 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Durso, L. M., Bono, J. L., Keen, J. E. (2005). Molecular Serotyping of Escherichia coli O26:H11. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 71: 4941-4944 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Tominaga, A., Lan, R., Reeves, P. R. (2005). Evolutionary Changes of the flhDC Flagellar Master Operon in Shigella Strains. J. Bacteriol. 187: 4295-4302 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Ren, C.-P., Beatson, S. A., Parkhill, J., Pallen, M. J. (2005). The Flag-2 Locus, an Ancestral Gene Cluster, Is Potentially Associated with a Novel Flagellar System from Escherichia coli. J. Bacteriol. 187: 1430-1440 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Beutin, L., Tao, J., Feng, L., Krause, G., Zimmermann, S., Gleier, K., Xia, Q., Wang, L. (2005). Sequence Analysis of the Escherichia coli O15 Antigen Gene Cluster and Development of a PCR Assay for Rapid Detection of Intestinal and Extraintestinal Pathogenic E. coli O15 Strains. J. Clin. Microbiol. 43: 703-710 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Wildschutte, H., Wolfe, D. M., Tamewitz, A., Lawrence, J. G. (2004). Protozoan predation, diversifying selection, and the evolution of antigenic diversity in Salmonella. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 101: 10644-10649 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• McQuiston, J. R., Parrenas, R., Ortiz-Rivera, M., Gheesling, L., Brenner, F., Fields, P. I. (2004). Sequencing and Comparative Analysis of Flagellin Genes fliC, fljB, and flpA from Salmonella. J. Clin. Microbiol. 42: 1923-1932 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Arora, S. K., Wolfgang, M. C., Lory, S., Ramphal, R. (2004). Sequence Polymorphism in the Glycosylation Island and Flagellins of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. J. Bacteriol. 186: 2115-2122 [Abstract] [Full Text]