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Complex Interplay between Type 1 Fimbrial Expression and Flagellum-Mediated Motility of Uropathogenic Escherichia coli

M. Chelsea Lane, Amy N. Simms, and Harry L. T. Mobley^*

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109

Received 23 March 2007/ Accepted 9 May 2007

Type 1 fimbriae and flagella have been previously shown to contribute to the virulence of uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) within the urinary tract. In this study, the relationship between motility and type 1 fimbrial expression was tested for UPEC strain CFT073 by examining the phenotypic effect of fimbrial expression on motility and the effect that induction of motility has on type 1 fimbrial expression. While constitutive expression of type 1 fimbriae resulted in a significant decrease in motility and flagellin expression (P < 0.0001), a loss of type 1 fimbrial expression did not result in increased motility. Additionally, hypermotility and flagellar gene over- and underexpression were not observed to affect the expression of type 1 fimbriae. Hence, it appeared that the relationship between type 1 fimbrial expression and motility is unidirectional, where the overexpression of type 1 fimbriae dramatically affects motility and flagellum expression but not vice versa. Moreover, the constitutive expression of type 1 fimbriae in UPEC cystitis isolate F11 and the laboratory strain E. coli K-12 MG1655 also resulted in decreased motility, suggesting that this phenomenon is not specific to CFT073 or UPEC in general. Lastly, by analyzing the repression of motility caused by constitutive type 1 fimbrial expression, it was concluded that the synthesis and presence of type 1 fimbriae at the bacterial surface is only partially responsible for the repression of motility, as evidenced by the partial restoration of motility in the CFT073 fim L-ON fimAICDFGH mutant. Altogether, these data provide further insight into the complex interplay between type 1 fimbrial expression and flagellum-mediated motility.

Published ahead of print on 18 May 2007.

M.C.L. and A.N.S. contributed equally to this study.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Simms, A. N., Mobley, H. L. T. (2008). Multiple Genes Repress Motility in Uropathogenic Escherichia coli Constitutively Expressing Type 1 Fimbriae. J. Bacteriol. 190: 3747-3756 [Abstract] [Full Text]