Escherichia Coli Clone Sonnei (Shigella Sonnei) Had a Chromosomal O-antigen Gene Cluster Prior to Gaining Its Current Plasmid-borne O-antigen Genes

Overview

Journal J Bacteriol

Publisher American Society for Microbiology

Specialty Microbiology

Date 1998 Jun 6

PMID 9603891

Citations 9

Authors

V Lai

L Wang

P R REEVES

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

O antigen is part of the lipopolysaccharide present in the outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria. The surface-exposed O antigen is subject to selection by the host immune system, which may account for the maintenance of many different O-antigen forms. Characteristically, all genes specific to O-antigen synthesis are clustered in a region close to the his and gnd genes on the chromosome of Escherichia coli and related species. Shigella sonnei, essentially a clone of E. coli (E. coli clone Sonnei), is an important human pathogen and is unusual in that its O-antigen gene cluster is located on a plasmid. Our results suggest that it once had a normal chromosomal O-antigen gene cluster which has been largely deleted. We suggest that the O antigen encoded by the plasmid-borne genes offered a selective advantage in adapting to a new environment and that the chromosomal O-antigen genes were eventually inactivated. We also identified, by PCR and sequencing, a potential ancestor of E. coli Sonnei among the 166 known E. coli serotype strains.

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