title: Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli: identification of a gene cluster coding for bundle-forming pilus morphogenesis.
abstract: Sequence flanking the bfpA locus on the enteroadherent factor plasmid of the enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) strain B171-8 (O111:NM) was obtained to identify genes that might be required for bundle-forming pilus (BFP) biosynthesis. Deletion experiments led to the identification of a contiguous cluster of at least 12 open reading frames, including bfpA, that could direct the synthesis of a morphologically normal BFP filament. Within the bfp gene cluster, we identified open reading frames that share homology with other type IV pilus accessory genes and with genes required for transformation competence and protein secretion. Immediately upstream of the bfp gene cluster, we identified a potential replication origin including genes that are predicted to encode proteins homologous with replicase and resolvase. Restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of DNA from six additional EPEC serotypes showed that the organization of the bfp gene cluster and its juxtaposition with a potential plasmid origin of replication are highly conserved features of the EPEC biotype.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stanford University School of Medicine, California 94305, USA.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Sohel
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Puente
authors.forename: S W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Ramer
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bieber
authors.forename: C Y
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: G K
authors.initials: GK
authors.lastname: Schoolnik
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D001483:Base Sequence; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000472:pathogenicity; D010861:Fimbriae, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D005798:Genes, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009024:Morphogenesis / Q000235:genetics; D005810:Multigene Family / Q000235:genetics*; D016366:Open Reading Frames / Q000235:genetics; D010957:Plasmids / Q000235:genetics; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D018741:Replication Origin / Q000235:genetics; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid
chemical_list: D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins