The export systems of type 1 and F1C fimbriae are interchangeable but work in parental pairs.
Type 1 and F1C fimbriae are surface organelles of Escherichia coli which mediate receptor-specific binding to different host surfaces. Such fimbriae are found, among others, on strains associated with urinary tract infections. Biosynthesis of type 1 and F1C fimbrial organelles requires individual, specialized two-component assembly systems. The organization of the fim and foc gene clusters encoding these fimbriae, as well as the structure of the organelles, is very similar; however, the actual sequence homology of the structural elements is not remarkable (34 to 60%). Both gene clusters encode a periplasmically located chaperone and an usher protein, located in the outer membrane, required for organelle biogenesis. Deletion of either element causes abolishment of fimbriation. The present report addresses the question of promiscuity in fimbrial biogenesis. Our data indicate that the two-component export systems of the two organelle systems are reciprocally interchangeable; however, they seem to function only in parental pairs.
Department of Microbiology, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby.
P
P
Klemm
B J
BJ
Jørgensen
B
B
Kreft
G
G
Christiansen
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D002460:Cell Line; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D036781:Fimbriae Proteins; D010861:Fimbriae, Bacterial / Q000502:physiology*; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D006801:Humans; D018832:Molecular Chaperones / Q000502:physiology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data
D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D018832:Molecular Chaperones; C489721:fimC protein, E coli; C489283:fimD protein, E coli; C063629:fimD protein, bacteria; D036781:Fimbriae Proteins