title: F9 fimbriae of uropathogenic Escherichia coli are expressed at low temperature and recognise Galβ1-3GlcNAc-containing glycans.
abstract: Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) is the leading causative agent of urinary tract infections (UTI) in the developed world. Among the major virulence factors of UPEC, surface expressed adhesins mediate attachment and tissue tropism. UPEC strains typically possess a range of adhesins, with type 1 fimbriae and P fimbriae of the chaperone-usher class the best characterised. We previously identified and characterised F9 as a new chaperone-usher fimbrial type that mediates biofilm formation. However, the regulation and specific role of F9 fimbriae remained to be determined in the context of wild-type clinical UPEC strains. In this study we have assessed the distribution and genetic context of the f9 operon among diverse E. coli lineages and pathotypes and demonstrated that f9 genes are significantly more conserved in a UPEC strain collection in comparison to the well-defined E. coli reference (ECOR) collection. In the prototypic UPEC strain CFT073, the global regulator protein H-NS was identified as a transcriptional repressor of f9 gene expression at 37°C through its ability to bind directly to the f9 promoter region. F9 fimbriae expression was demonstrated at 20°C, representing the first evidence of functional F9 fimbriae expression by wild-type E. coli. Finally, glycan array analysis demonstrated that F9 fimbriae recognise and bind to terminal Galβ1-3GlcNAc structures.
authors.affiliation: Australian Infectious Diseases Research Centre, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
authors.forename: Daniël J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Wurpel
authors.affiliation: Australian Infectious Diseases Research Centre, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
authors.forename: Makrina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Totsika
authors.affiliation: Australian Infectious Diseases Research Centre, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
authors.forename: Luke P
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Allsopp
authors.affiliation: Institute for Glycomics, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Lauren E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Hartley-Tassell
authors.affiliation: Institute for Glycomics, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Christopher J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Day
authors.affiliation: Australian Infectious Diseases Research Centre, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
authors.forename: Kate M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Peters
authors.affiliation: Australian Infectious Diseases Research Centre, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
authors.forename: Sohinee
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sarkar
authors.affiliation: School of Medical Sciences, Centre for Medicine and Oral Health, Griffith University, Southport, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Glen C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Ulett
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Ji
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Institute for Glycomics, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Joe
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tiralongo
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Richard A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Strugnell
authors.affiliation: Institute for Glycomics, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Michael P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Jennings
authors.affiliation: Australian Infectious Diseases Research Centre, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
authors.forename: Mark A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Schembri
mesh_terms: D000117:Acetylglucosamine / Q000378:metabolism; D018829:Adhesins, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion; D001483:Base Sequence; D018441:Biofilms; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D010861:Fimbriae, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D005690:Galactose / Q000378:metabolism; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009876:Operon; D010802:Phylogeny; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000378:metabolism*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D056689:Uropathogenic Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D018829:Adhesins, Bacterial; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D011134:Polysaccharides; D000117:Acetylglucosamine; D005690:Galactose