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Journal of Bacteriology, May 2004, p. 3230-3237, Vol. 186, No. 10
0021-9193/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JB.186.10.3230-3237.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Horizontal Transfer of CS1 Pilin Genes of Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli

Barbara Froehlich,¹ Erik Holtzapple,^2, Timothy D. Read,^2, and June R. Scott^1*

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory University School of Medicine Atlanta, Georgia 30322,¹ The Institute for Genomic Research, Rockville, Maryland 20850²

Received 12 December 2003/ Accepted 6 February 2004

CS1 is one of a limited number of serologically distinct pili found in enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) strains associated with disease in people. The genes for the CS1 pilus are on a large plasmid, pCoo. We show that pCoo is not self-transmissible, although our sequence determination for part of pCoo shows regions almost identical to those in the conjugative drug resistance plasmid R64. When we introduced R64 into a strain containing pCoo, we found that pCoo was transferred to a recipient strain in mating. Most of the transconjugant pCoo plasmids result from recombination with R64, leading to acquisition of functional copies of all of the R64 transfer genes. Temporary coresidence of the drug resistance plasmid R64 with pCoo leads to a permanent change in pCoo so that it is now self-transmissible. We conclude that when R64-like plasmids are transmitted to an ETEC strain containing pCoo, their recombination may allow for spread of the pCoo plasmid to other enteric bacteria.

Present address: Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108.

Present addresses: Biological Defense Research Directorate, Naval Medical Research Center, and The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Rockville, MD 20852.

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