title: Virulence traits and pathogenicity of uropathogenic Escherichia coli isolates with common and uncommon O serotypes.
abstract: Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are among the most common human diseases worldwide. This study aimed to collect uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) isolates from Jiangsu Province and obtain insights into the molecular epidemiology of UPEC in this region. The O serotypes, phylogenetic groups, and virulence factors of 183 UPEC isolates were determined. In this study, we isolated 51 UPEC isolates with common O serotypes including O1, O2, O4, O6, O7, O16, O18 and O75, as well as 35 of those with uncommonly encountered O serotypes including O8, O12, O15, O26, and O74. Groups B2 and D were the most prevalent phylogenetic groups and accounted for 29.5% and 41% of the isolates, respectively. In the tested 13 virulence genes (VGs), tonB and dsdA possessed the highest prevalence rate, followed by fimH, degP and ompR. Several other virulence genes such as fliC, neuC, ireA, and vat had prevalence less than 23%. Moreover, representative isolates belonging to common or uncommon O serotypes with different numbers of VGs were chosen for the pathogenic analyses. Based on the results of 1-day-old chick lethality assay and UTI ascending mouse infection model, our study suggested that the virulence of UPEC isolates for chicks and/or mice depended on both the number of VGs expressed and the O serotypes.
authors.affiliation: Animal Infectious Disease Laboratory, Ministry of Agriculture, Jiangsu Co-innovation Center for Prevention and Control of Important Animal Infectious Diseases and Zoonoses, College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225009, PR China.
authors.forename: Qingqing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Animal Infectious Disease Laboratory, Ministry of Agriculture, Jiangsu Co-innovation Center for Prevention and Control of Important Animal Infectious Diseases and Zoonoses, College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225009, PR China.
authors.forename: Debao
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Animal Infectious Disease Laboratory, Ministry of Agriculture, Jiangsu Co-innovation Center for Prevention and Control of Important Animal Infectious Diseases and Zoonoses, College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225009, PR China.
authors.forename: Zhengqin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.affiliation: College of Clinical Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225009, PR China.
authors.forename: Xiaoping
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: College of Clinical Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225009, PR China.
authors.forename: Weixia
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: College of Clinical Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225009, PR China.
authors.forename: Lanmei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: Animal Infectious Disease Laboratory, Ministry of Agriculture, Jiangsu Co-innovation Center for Prevention and Control of Important Animal Infectious Diseases and Zoonoses, College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225009, PR China. Electronic address: gsong@yzu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Song
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Animal Infectious Disease Laboratory, Ministry of Agriculture, Jiangsu Co-innovation Center for Prevention and Control of Important Animal Infectious Diseases and Zoonoses, College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225009, PR China.
authors.forename: Xiufan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D002645:Chickens; D002681:China; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004927:Escherichia coli Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D019081:O Antigens / Q000032:analysis*; D010802:Phylogeny; D065288:Serogroup; D016019:Survival Analysis; D014552:Urinary Tract Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D056689:Uropathogenic Escherichia coli / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000032:analysis* / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D019081:O Antigens; D037521:Virulence Factors
keywords: Pathogenicity; UPEC; Virulence traits