Journal article
Characterization of EhaJ, a New Autotransporter Protein from Enterohemorrhagic and Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli
Frontiers in microbiology, Vol.2(JUNE), pp.120-120
2011
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/113134
PMCID: PMC3108271
PMID: 21687429
Abstract
Enterohemorrhagic
Escherichia coli
(EHEC) and enteropathogenic
E. coli
(EPEC) are diarrheagenic pathotypes of
E. coli
that cause gastrointestinal disease with the potential for life-threatening sequelae. While certain EHEC and EPEC virulence mechanisms have been extensively studied, the factors that mediate host colonization remain to be properly defined. Previously, we identified four genes (
ehaA
,
ehaB
,
ehaC
, and
ehaD
) from the prototypic EHEC strain EDL933 that encode for proteins that belong to the autotransporter (AT) family. Here we have examined the prevalence of these genes, as well as several other AT-encoding genes, in a collection of EHEC and EPEC strains. We show that the complement of AT-encoding genes in EHEC and EPEC strains is variable, with some AT-encoding genes being highly prevalent. One previously uncharacterized AT-encoding gene, which we have termed
ehaJ
, was identified in 12/44 (27%) of EHEC and 2/20 (10%) of EPEC strains. The
ehaJ
gene lies immediately adjacent to a gene encoding a putative glycosyltransferase (referred to as
egtA
). Western blot analysis using an EhaJ-specific antibody indicated that EhaJ is glycosylated by EgtA. Expression of EhaJ in a recombinant
E. coli
strain, revealed EhaJ is located at the cell surface and in the presence of the
egtA
glycosyltransferase gene mediates strong biofilm formation in microtiter plate and flow cell assays. EhaJ also mediated adherence to a range of extracellular matrix proteins, however this occurred independent of glycosylation. We also demonstrate that EhaJ is expressed in a wild-type EPEC strain following
in vitro
growth. However, deletion of
ehaJ
did not significantly alter its adherence or biofilm properties. In summary, EhaJ is a new glycosylated AT protein from EPEC and EHEC. Further studies are required to elucidate the function of EhaJ in colonization and virulence.
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Details
- Title
- Characterization of EhaJ, a New Autotransporter Protein from Enterohemorrhagic and Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli
- Creators
- Donna M Easton - School of Veterinary Science, The University of QueenslandMakrina Totsika - Australian Infectious Disease Research Centre, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of QueenslandLuke P Allsopp - Australian Infectious Disease Research Centre, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of QueenslandMinh-Duy Phan - Australian Infectious Disease Research Centre, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of QueenslandAdi Idris - Australian Infectious Disease Research Centre, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of QueenslandDaniël J Wurpel - Australian Infectious Disease Research Centre, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of QueenslandOrla Sherlock - Australian Infectious Disease Research Centre, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of QueenslandBing Zhang - Animal Science, Agri-Science Queensland, Department of Employment, Economic Development and InnovationCarola Venturini - Australian Infectious Disease Research Centre, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of QueenslandScott A Beatson - Australian Infectious Disease Research Centre, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of QueenslandTimothy J Mahony - Animal Science, Agri-Science Queensland, Department of Employment, Economic Development and InnovationRowland N Cobbold - School of Veterinary Science, The University of QueenslandMark A Schembri - Australian Infectious Disease Research Centre, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland
- Publication Details
- Frontiers in microbiology, Vol.2(JUNE), pp.120-120
- Publisher
- Frontiers Research Foundation
- Identifiers
- 99900547323501842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article