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Journal of Bacteriology, March 2002, p. 1669-1677, Vol. 184, No. 6
0021-9193/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JB.184.6.1669-1677.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Extensive Variation in the O-Antigen Gene Cluster within One Salmonella enterica Serogroup Reveals an Unexpected Complex History

Lei Wang,1,{dagger} Kanella Andrianopoulos,1 Dan Liu,1 Michel Y. Popoff,2 and Peter R. Reeves1*

Department of Microbiology, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia ,1 WHO Collaboration Center for Reference and Research on Salmonella, Unité de Génétique des Bactéries Intracellulaires, Institut Pasteur, 75724 Paris Cedex 15, France2

Received 1 July 2001/ Accepted 18 December 2001

The 46 serogroups of Salmonella enterica have different O-antigens, and each is thought to have a specific form of the O-antigen cluster. Comparison of the 145 serovars of serogroup B revealed much more intraserogroup genetic diversity than expected. The O27 factor, due to an {alpha} 1-6 linkage between O units in place of the more common {alpha} 1-2 linkage and previously thought to be due to a converting bacteriophage, is now shown to be due to a wzy{alpha}(1-6) gene located within the major gene cluster. Surprisingly a remnant of this gene in all O27- serovars shows that the ancestor was O27+. There are six distinct gene cluster forms, five apparently derived by a series of deletions and one by an insertion from an ancestral O27+ form present in 57 serovars. The history of the gene cluster and movement between subspecies I and II can be traced. Two of the derivative forms still have a functional wzy{alpha}(1-6) gene, while in three it has been inactivated by deletion or insertion. Two of the forms lacking a functional wzy{alpha}(1-6) gene have the wzy{alpha}(1-2) gene first described for strain LT2 as rfc, whereas for the third the wzy gene has not been located.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Microbiology, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia. Phone: (612) 351 2536. Fax: (612) 351 4571. E-mail: reeves{at}angis.org.au.

{dagger} Present address: Department of Microbiology, College of Life Science, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, People's Republic of China.

Journal of Bacteriology, March 2002, p. 1669-1677, Vol. 184, No. 6
0021-9193/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JB.184.6.1669-1677.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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  • Fitzgerald, C., Sherwood, R., Gheesling, L. L., Brenner, F. W., Fields, P. I. (2003). Molecular Analysis of the rfb O Antigen Gene Cluster of Salmonella enterica Serogroup O:6,14 and Development of a Serogroup-Specific PCR Assay. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 69: 6099-6105 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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