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Journal of Bacteriology, September 2006, p. 6449-6459, Vol. 188, No. 18
0021-9193/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.00453-06
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Characterization of Stg Fimbriae from an Avian Pathogenic Escherichia coli O78:K80 Strain and Assessment of Their Contribution to Colonization of the Chicken Respiratory Tract

INRS-Institut Armand-Frappier, Laval, Québec, Canada,¹ Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Montréal, Montréal, Canada,² INRA Centre de Tours, Infectiologie Animale et Santé Publique UR1282, 37380 Nouzilly, France,³ Mucosal and Vaccine Research Center, VA Medical Center, and Department of Medicine, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota⁴

Received 1 April 2006/ Accepted 7 July 2006

In a previous study, ecs-3, a sequence from avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) O78:K80 strain 7122, was found to be expressed in vivo in infected chicken tissues. The region encompassing ecs-3 carries a fimbrial gene cluster that is a putative ortholog of the stg fimbrial gene cluster of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi. This APEC fimbrial gene cluster, which we have termed stg, is a member of a distinct group of related fimbriae that are located in the glmS-pstS intergenic region of certain E. coli and S. enterica strains. Under the control of the pBAD promoter, the production of Stg fimbriae was demonstrated by Western blotting and immunogold electron microscopy with E. coli K-12. Transcriptional fusions suggest that stg expression is influenced by the carbohydrate source and decreased by the addition of iron and that Fur plays a role in the regulation of stg expression. stg sequences were associated with APEC O78 isolates, and stg was phylogenetically distributed among E. coli reference strains and clinical isolates from human urinary tract infections. Stg fimbriae contributed to the adherence of a nonfimbriated E. coli K-12 strain to avian lung sections and human epithelial cells in vitro. Coinfection experiments with APEC strain 7122 and an isogenic stg mutant demonstrated that compared to the wild-type parent, the stg mutant was less able to colonize air sacs, equally able to colonize lungs, and able to more effectively colonize tracheas of infected chickens. Stg fimbriae, together with other adhesins, may therefore contribute to the colonization of avian respiratory tissues by certain APEC strains.

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