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Journal of Bacteriology, January 2009, p. 388-393, Vol. 191, No. 1
0021-9193/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.01052-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

A Genomic Island of an Extraintestinal Pathogenic Escherichia coli Strain Enables the Metabolism of Fructooligosaccharides, Which Improves Intestinal Colonization{triangledown} ,§

Catherine Schouler,* Ahmed Taki, Iman Chouikha, Maryvonne Moulin-Schouleur, and Philippe Gilot

INRA, UR1282, Animal Infectiology and Public Health Unit, Bacterial Pathogenicity Laboratory, Tours Research Center, F-37380 Nouzilly, France

Received 29 July 2008/ Accepted 20 October 2008

Prebiotics such as fructooligosaccharides (FOS) are increasingly being used in some countries for improving human and animal health and as an alternative to antibiotic growth promoters in animals, with various degrees of success. It has been observed that FOS stimulate the proliferation of probiotic bacteria and, at the same time, decrease the population of bacteria associated with disease. This observation assumes that pathogenic bacteria do not metabolize FOS and, therefore, lose their competitive advantage over beneficial bacteria. Here we present evidence that some pathogenic Escherichia coli strains can metabolize FOS and show that this property helps the bacterium colonize the intestine. These findings highlight the potential risk that a high level of prebiotic usage could lead to the emergence of well-adapted pathogenic strains that metabolize prebiotic substances.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: INRA, UR1282, Animal Infectiology and Public Health Unit, Bacterial Pathogenicity Laboratory, Tours Research Center, F-37380 Nouzilly, France. Phone: 33 2 47 42 72 96. Fax: 33 2 47 42 77 74. E-mail: catherine.schouler{at}tours.inra.fr

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 31 October 2008.

§ Supplemental material for this article may be found at http://jb.asm.org/.

Journal of Bacteriology, January 2009, p. 388-393, Vol. 191, No. 1
0021-9193/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.01052-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Rouquet, G., Porcheron, G., Barra, C., Reperant, M., Chanteloup, N. K., Schouler, C., Gilot, P. (2009). A Metabolic Operon in Extraintestinal Pathogenic Escherichia coli Promotes Fitness under Stressful Conditions and Invasion of Eukaryotic Cells. J. Bacteriol. 191: 4427-4440 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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