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P-fimbriae-producing septicaemic Escherichia coli from poultry possess fel-related gene clusters whereas pap-hybridizing P-fimbriae-negative strains have partial or divergent P fimbrial gene clusters

Charles M. Dozois

Département de pathologie et de microbiologie, Faculté de médecine vétérinaire, Université de Montréal, CP 5000, Saint-Hyacinthe, Québec, Canada J2S 7C6

¹Author for correspondence: John M. Fairbrother. Tel: +1 514 773 5121 ext. 8234. Fax: +1 514 778 8108. e-mail: FAIRBRO@ERE.UMONTREAL.CA

ABSTRACT

The organization of P fimbrial gene clusters of 13 papC-hybridizing Escherichia coli strains isolated from poultry with colisepticaemia, five P-fimbriae-expressing (P-positive) and eight P-fimbriae-non-expressing (P-negative), were examined by PCR and by Southern blot hybridization using primers or gene probes specific to the I, B, A, C or G genes. The absence of P fimbrial expression was associated with lack of PCR amplification of one or more of these genes, most commonly the I gene. Restriction endonuclease EcoRI, BamHI or Pstl digests of genomic DNA from all strains hybridized with each of the gene probes and demonstrated polymorphisms between P-positive and P-negative strains. Pstl digests of DNA from 12 of the 13 strains, when hybridized with the A gene probe, demonstrated a 0.1 kb fragment specific to the felA gene which encodes the major structural protein of F11 fimbriae. Hence, only the P-positive strains contained complete copies of fel-related gene clusters. In contrast, most of the pap-hybridizing P-negative strains contained partial or divergent P fimbrial gene clusters, which explains the lack of P fimbrial expression by these strains.

Present address: Laboratoire associé INRA-ENVT de Physiopathologie et Toxicologie Expérimentale, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, Toulouse, France.

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