title: Characterization of three fimbrial genes, sefABC, of Salmonella enteritidis.
abstract: Salmonella enteritidis produces thin, filamentous fimbriae designated SEF14. A 3.9-kb region of a 5.3-kb fragment encoding genes responsible for SEF14 biosynthesis was sequenced and found to contain three genes, sefABC. sefA encoded a novel fimbrin, the structural subunit of SEF14 fimbriae. sefB and sefC encoded proteins homologous to Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae fimbrial periplasmic chaperone proteins and fimbrial outer membrane proteins, respectively, and are the first such genes to be characterized from Salmonella spp. in vitro expression directed by the 5.3-kb DNA fragment identified SefA, SefB, and SefC as approximately 14,000-, 28,000-, and 90,000-M(r) proteins, respectively, which correlated with their predicted amino acid sequences. sefB and sefC were not expressed in the absence of sefA. Primer extension analysis of sefABC revealed two major transcription start sites located upstream of sefA. Transcription of sefBC also initiated from the sefA promoter region. Secondary-structure analysis of the mRNA transcript for sefABC predicted the formation of two stable stem-loop structures in the intercistronic region between sefA and sefB indicative of differential regulation of SefA, SefB, and SefC translation. E. coli cells carrying the 5.3-kb DNA fragment of S. enteritidis DNA were unable to assemble distinguishable SEF14 fimbriae; however, immunogold-labelled SEF14 fimbriae were displayed on E. coli clones containing a 44-kb DNA fragment which encompassed the 5.3-kb region. Therefore, sefABC genes make up part of a complex sef operon responsible for the expression and assembly of SEF14 fimbriae.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Clouthier
authors.forename: K H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Doran
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Collinson
authors.forename: W W
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Kay
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D001483:Base Sequence; D018833:Chaperonins; D036781:Fimbriae Proteins; D010861:Fimbriae, Bacterial; D005798:Genes, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D008840:Microfilament Proteins; D016253:Microscopy, Immunoelectron; D018832:Molecular Chaperones; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D009876:Operon / Q000235:genetics; D011506:Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D012477:Salmonella enteritidis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D008840:Microfilament Proteins; D018832:Molecular Chaperones; D011506:Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; C026742:plastin; C080931:sefA protein, Salmonella enteritidis; C080932:sefB protein, Salmonella; C080933:sefC protein, Salmonella enteritidis; D036781:Fimbriae Proteins; D018833:Chaperonins