A Genetic Locus of Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli Necessary for the Production of Attaching and Effacing Lesions on Tissue Culture Cells

• Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Vol. 87; no. 20; pp. 7839 - 7843
• Main Authors: Jerse, Ann E., Yu, Jun, Tall, Ben D., Kaper, James B.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 01-10-1990; National Acad Sciences
• Subjects: Animals; Bacteria; Bacterial Adhesion - genetics; Bacteriology; Biological and medical sciences; Caco 2 cells; Cell adhesion; Cell Line; Cell lines; Chromosomes, Bacterial; Cosmids; Cultured cells; DNA probes; DNA Transposable Elements; Escherichia coli; Escherichia coli - genetics; Escherichia coli - pathogenicity; Escherichia coli - physiology; Fluorescence; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Genetic loci; Genetic Techniques; Humans; Lesions; Microbiology; Molecular Sequence Data; Mutation; Pathogenicity, virulence, toxins, bacteriocins, pyrogens, host-bacteria relations, miscellaneous strains; Plasmids; Protein Biosynthesis; Rabbits; Restriction Mapping; Transcription, Genetic; Virulence - genetics; Gene; Microscopy; Mutagenesis; Pathogenesis; Escherichia coli; Immunoblotting assay; Bacteria; Locus; Electron microscopy; Enterobacteriaceae
• ISSN: 0027-8424; 1091-6490
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.87.20.7839

The ability of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) to form attaching and effacing intestinal lesions is a major characteristic of EPEC pathogenesis. Using TnphoA mutagenesis we have identified a chromosomal gene (eae, for E. coli attaching and effacing) that is necessary for this activity. A DNA probe derived from this gene hybridizes to 100% of E. coli of EPEC serogroups that demonstrate attaching and effacing activity on tissue culture cells as well as other pathogenic E, coli that produce attaching and effacing intestinal lesions, such as RDEC-1 (an EPEC of weanling rabbits) and enterohemorrhagic E. coli. The predicted amino acid sequence derived from the nucleotide sequence of eae shows significant homology to that of the invasion of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis.