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Investigation of the biofilm formation in extra-intestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli ST131 strains and its correlation with the presence of fimH, afa, and kpsMSTII genes

  • Microbial Genetics • Original Paper
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Abstract

Escherichia coli sequence type 131 (ST131) is a multidrug-resistant strain with the global dissemination. Biofilm formation-related factors include the most important virulence factors in extra-intestinal pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC) ST131 strains causing infections with treatment-limited subjects. This study aims to investigate the biofilm formation ability and its correlation with the presence of fimH, afa, and kpsMSTII genes in clinical isolates of ExPEC ST131. In this regard, the prevalence and characteristics of these strains collected and evaluated. The results revealed strong, moderate, and weak attachment abilities related to biofilm formation attributes in 45%, 20%, and 35% of strains, respectively. In the meantime, the frequency of the fimH, afa, and kpsMSTII genes among the isolates was observed as follows: fimH positive: 65%; afa positive: 55%; and kpsMSTII positive: 85%. The results convey a significant different of biofilm formation ability between clinical E. coli ST131 and non-ST131 isolates. Furthermore, while 45% of ST131 isolates produced strong biofilms, only 2% of non-ST131 isolates showed the ability to form strong biofilms. The attending of fimH, afa, and kpsMSTII genes in the majority of ST131 strains demonstrated a key role leading to biofilm formation. These findings suggested the application of fimH, afa, and kpsMSTII gene suppressors for treating biofilm infections caused by drug-resistant ST131 strains.

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Data availability

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article. The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Tehran University of Medical Sciences.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Students’ Scientific Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Mohammad Taha Ebrahimi

  2. Liver and Digestive Research Center, Research Institute for Health Development, Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran

    Manouchehr Ahmadi Hedayati

  3. Center for Musculoskeletal Surgery, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353, Berlin, Germany

    Rima Fanaei Pirlar

  4. BIH Center for Regenerative Therapies (BCRT), Berlin Institute of Health at Charité, Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany

    Rima Fanaei Pirlar

  5. Department of Energy and Environmental Biotechnology, School of Industrial and Environmental Biotechnology, National Institute of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Tehran, Iran

    Newsha Mortazavi

  6. Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran

    Mohsen Nazari, Amjad Ahmadi & Jaber Hemmati

  7. Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, School of Allied Medical Sciences, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Yousef Erfani

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Contributions

YE and MTE conceived and designed the experiments. RFP, NM, and MN performed the experiments. AA, JH, and MAH analyzed the data. YE and MAH wrote the manuscript. All authors reviewed and approved the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yousef Erfani.

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The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of Tehran University of Medical Sciences (IR.TUMS.SPH.REC.1398.057). Consent to participate is not applicable for this study because the isolates included in the study were obtained from existing clinical collections routinely assembled as part of laboratory practices of tertiary hospitals. The clinical strains of E. coli were obtained by permission of the head of hospital laboratory.

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Communicated by Agnieszka Szalewska-Palasz

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The design of the study and collection, analysis, and interpretation of data, and writing of the manuscript was supported by Tehran University of Medical Sciences.

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Ebrahimi, M.T., Hedayati, M.A., Pirlar, R.F. et al. Investigation of the biofilm formation in extra-intestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli ST131 strains and its correlation with the presence of fimH, afa, and kpsMSTII genes. J Appl Genetics 64, 367–373 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13353-023-00757-9

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