Escherichia coli O-Antigen Gene Clusters of Serogroups O62, O68, O131, O140, O142, and O163: DNA Sequences and Similarity between O62 and O68, and PCR-Based Serogrouping

Serogroup classifications based upon the O-somatic antigen of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) provide significant epidemiological information on clinical isolates. Each O-antigen determinant is encoded by a unique cluster of genes present between the gnd and galF chromosomal genes. Alternatively, serogroup-specific polymorphisms might be encoded in loci that are encoded outside of the O-antigen gene cluster. Segments of the core bacterial loci mdh, gnd, gcl, ppk, metA, ftsZ, relA and metG for 30 O26 STEC strains have previously been sequenced, and comparative analyses to O157 distinguished these two serogroups. To screen these loci for serogroup-specific traits within a broader range of clinically significant serogroups, DNA sequences were obtained for 19 strains of 10 additional STEC serogroups. Unique alleles were observed at the gnd locus for each examined STEC serogroup, and this correlation persisted when comparative analyses were extended to 144 gnd sequences from 26 O-serogroups (comprising 42 O : H-serotypes). These included O157, O121, O103, O26, O5 : non-motile (NM), O145 : NM, O113 : H21, O111 : NM and O117 : H7 STEC; and furthermore, non-toxin encoding O157, O26, O55, O6 and O117 strains encoded distinct gnd alleles compared to STEC strains of the same serogroup. DNA sequencing of a 643 bp region of gnd was, therefore, sufficient to minimally determine the O-antigen of STEC through molecular means, and the location of gnd next to the O-antigen gene cluster offered additional support for the co-inheritance of these determinants. The gnd DNA sequence-based serogrouping method could improve the typing capabilities for STEC in clinical laboratories, and was used successfully to characterize O121 : H19, O26 : H11 and O177 : NM clinical isolates prior to serological confirmation during outbreak investigations.

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Structure and genetics of Escherichia coli O antigens

FEMS Microbiology Reviews ◽

10.1093/femsre/fuz028 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 44 (6) ◽

pp. 655-683 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Bin Liu ◽

Axel Furevi ◽

Andrei V Perepelov ◽

Xi Guo ◽

Hengchun Cao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Escherichia Coli ◽

Genetic Basis ◽

Structural Diversity ◽

Gene Clusters ◽

Current Standard ◽

E Coli ◽

Antigen Gene ◽

O Antigen ◽

Or Groups ◽

O Antigens

ABSTRACT Escherichia coli includes clonal groups of both commensal and pathogenic strains, with some of the latter causing serious infectious diseases. O antigen variation is current standard in defining strains for taxonomy and epidemiology, providing the basis for many serotyping schemes for Gram-negative bacteria. This review covers the diversity in E. coli O antigen structures and gene clusters, and the genetic basis for the structural diversity. Of the 187 formally defined O antigens, six (O31, O47, O67, O72, O94 and O122) have since been removed and three (O34, O89 and O144) strains do not produce any O antigen. Therefore, structures are presented for 176 of the 181 E. coli O antigens, some of which include subgroups. Most (93%) of these O antigens are synthesized via the Wzx/Wzy pathway, 11 via the ABC transporter pathway, with O20, O57 and O60 still uncharacterized due to failure to find their O antigen gene clusters. Biosynthetic pathways are given for 38 of the 49 sugars found in E. coli O antigens, and several pairs or groups of the E. coli antigens that have related structures show close relationships of the O antigen gene clusters within clades, thereby highlighting the genetic basis of the evolution of diversity.

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The Escherichia coli Serogroup O1 and O2 Lipopolysaccharides Are Encoded by Multiple O-antigen Gene Clusters

Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology ◽

10.3389/fcimb.2017.00030 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 7 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Sabine Delannoy ◽

Lothar Beutin ◽

Patricia Mariani-Kurkdjian ◽

Aubin Fleiss ◽

Stéphane Bonacorsi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Escherichia Coli ◽

Gene Clusters ◽

Antigen Gene ◽

O Antigen

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The O-Antigen Gene Cluster of Escherichia coli O55:H7 and Identification of a New UDP-GlcNAc C4 Epimerase Gene

Journal of Bacteriology ◽

10.1128/jb.184.10.2620-2625.2002 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 184 (10) ◽

pp. 2620-2625 ◽

Cited By ~ 70

Author(s):

Lei Wang ◽

Sandy Huskic ◽

Adam Cisterne ◽

Deborah Rothemund ◽

Peter R. Reeves

Keyword(s):

Escherichia Coli ◽

Pseudomonas Aeruginosa ◽

Gene Cluster ◽

Gene Clusters ◽

The Other ◽

Recombination Site ◽

E Coli ◽

Antigen Gene ◽

O Antigen ◽

Usual Location

ABSTRACT Escherichia coli O55 is an important antigen which is often associated with enteropathogenic E. coli clones. We sequenced the genes responsible for its synthesis and identified genes for O-antigen polymerase, O-antigen flippase, four enzymes involved in GDP-colitose synthesis, and three glycosyltransferases, all by comparison with known genes. Upstream of the normal O-antigen region there is a gne gene, which encodes a UDP-GlcNAc epimerase for converting UDP-GlcNAc to UDP-GalNAc and is essential for O55 antigen synthesis. The O55 gne product has only 20 and 26% identity to the gne genes of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and E. coli O113, respectively. We also found evidence for the O55 gene cluster's having evolved from another gene cluster by gain and loss of genes. Only three of the GDP-colitose pathway genes are in the usual location, the other two being separated, although nearby. It is thought that the E. coli O157:H7 clone evolved from the O55:H7 clone in part by transfer of the O157 gene cluster into an O55 lineage. Comparison of genes flanking the O-antigen gene clusters of the O55:H7 and O157:H7 clones revealed one recombination site within the galF gene and located the other between the hisG and amn genes. Genes outside the recombination sites are 99.6 to 100% identical in the two clones, while most genes thought to have transferred with the O157 gene cluster are 95 to 98% identical.

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Correction: Comparison of O-Antigen Gene Clusters of All O-Serogroups of Escherichia coli and Proposal for Adopting a New Nomenclature for O-Typing

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0154551 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. e0154551 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Chitrita DebRoy ◽

Pina M. Fratamico ◽

Xianghe Yan ◽

GianMarco Baranzoni ◽

Yanhong Liu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Escherichia Coli ◽

Gene Clusters ◽

Antigen Gene ◽

O Antigen

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Characterization of Escherichia coli O3 and O21 O antigen gene clusters and development of serogroup-specific PCR assays

Journal of Microbiological Methods ◽

10.1016/j.mimet.2008.07.010 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 75 (2) ◽

pp. 329-334 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Yi Ren ◽

Bin Liu ◽

Jiansong Cheng ◽

Fenxia Liu ◽

Lu Feng ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Escherichia Coli ◽

Gene Clusters ◽

Antigen Gene ◽

O Antigen ◽

Specific Pcr ◽

Pcr Assays

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Structure of the O-antigen of Salmonella O66 and the genetic basis for similarity and differences between the closely related O-antigens of Escherichia coli O166 and Salmonella O66

Microbiology ◽

10.1099/mic.0.037325-0 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 156 (6) ◽

pp. 1642-1649 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Bin Liu ◽

Andrei V. Perepelov ◽

Dan Li ◽

Sof'ya N. Senchenkova ◽

Yanfang Han ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Escherichia Coli ◽

Gene Cluster ◽

Gene Clusters ◽

Coding Region ◽

E Coli ◽

Antigen Gene ◽

O Antigen ◽

New Genes ◽

O Antigens ◽

Antigen Structure

O-antigen is a component of the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria and is one of the most variable cell surface constituents, leading to major antigenic variability. The O-antigen forms the basis for bacterial serotyping. In this study, the O-antigen structure of Salmonella O66 was established, which differs from the known O-antigen structure of Escherichia coli O166 only in one linkage (most likely the linkage between the O-units) and O-acetylation. The O-antigen gene clusters of Salmonella O66 and E. coli O166 were found to have similar organizations, the only exception being that in Salmonella O66, the wzy gene is replaced by a non-coding region. The function of the wzy gene in E. coli O166 was confirmed by the construction and analysis of deletion and trans-complementation mutants. It is proposed that a functional wzy gene located outside the O-antigen gene cluster is involved in Salmonella O66 O-antigen biosynthesis, as has been reported previously in Salmonella serogroups A, B and D1. The sequence identity for the corresponding genes between the O-antigen gene clusters of Salmonella O66 and E. coli O166 ranges from 64 to 70 %, indicating that they may originate from a common ancestor. It is likely that after the species divergence, Salmonella O66 got its specific O-antigen form by inactivation of the wzy gene located in the O-antigen gene cluster and acquisition of two new genes (a wzy gene and a prophage gene for O-acetyl modification) both residing outside the O-antigen gene cluster.

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Sequence Analysis of Four Shigella boydii O-Antigen Loci: Implication for Escherichia coli andShigella Relationships

Infection and Immunity ◽

10.1128/iai.69.11.6923-6930.2001 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 69 (11) ◽

pp. 6923-6930 ◽

Cited By ~ 44

Author(s):

Lei Wang ◽

Wenjia Qu ◽

Peter R. Reeves

Keyword(s):

Escherichia Coli ◽

Gene Clusters ◽

Shigella Dysenteriae ◽

E Coli ◽

Shigella Boydii ◽

Antigen Gene ◽

O Antigen ◽

Atypical Features ◽

Serotype 5 ◽

O Antigens

ABSTRACT Shigella strains are in reality clones ofEscherichia coli and are believed to have emerged relatively recently (G. M. Pupo, R. Lan, and P. R. Reeves, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 97:10567–10572, 2000). There are 33 O-antigen forms in these Shigella clones, of which 12 are identical to O antigens of other E. coli strains. We sequenced O-antigen gene clusters from Shigella boydiiserotypes 4, 5, 6, and 9 and also studied the O53- and O79-antigen gene clusters of E. coli, encoding O antigens identical to those of S. boydii serotype 4 and S. boydii serotype 5, respectively. In both cases the S. boydii and E. coli O-antigen gene clusters have the same genes and organization. The clusters of both S. boydii 6 and S. boydii 9 O antigens have atypical features, with a functional insertion sequence and a wzx gene located in the orientation opposite to that of all other genes in S. boydii serotype 9 and an rmlC gene located away from other rml genes in S. boydii serotype 6. Sequences of O-antigen gene clusters from another threeShigella clones have been published, and two of them also have abnormal structures, with either the entire cluster or one gene being located on a plasmid in Shigella sonnei orShigella dysenteriae, respectively. It appears that a high proportion of clusters coding for O antigens specific toShigella clones have atypical features, perhaps indicating recent formation of these gene clusters.

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Comparison of O-Antigen Gene Clusters ofEscherichia coli (Shigella) Sonnei andPlesiomonas shigelloides O17: Sonnei Gained Its Current Plasmid-Borne O-Antigen Genes from P. shigelloides in a Recent Event

Infection and Immunity ◽

10.1128/iai.68.10.6056-6061.2000 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 68 (10) ◽

pp. 6056-6061 ◽

Cited By ~ 72

Author(s):

James G. Shepherd ◽

Lei Wang ◽

Peter R. Reeves

Keyword(s):

Escherichia Coli ◽

Gene Cluster ◽

Gene Clusters ◽

Shigella Sonnei ◽

Ofescherichia Coli ◽

Recent Event ◽

Plesiomonas Shigelloides ◽

Antigen Gene ◽

O Antigen

ABSTRACT Escherichia coli Sonnei has an O antigen identical to that of Plesiomonas shigelloides O17, and its O-antigen gene cluster is located on a plasmid. By sequencing the chromosomal O-antigen gene cluster of P. shigelloides O17 and comparing it with that of Sonnei, we showed that Sonnei gained its O-antigen genes recently.

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