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Analysis of yeh Fimbrial Gene Cluster in Escherichia coli O157:H7 in Order to Find a Genetic Marker for this Serotype

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Abstract

yeh fimbrial gene cluster encodes a type of putative fimbrial complex belonging to chaperone–usher assembly pathway. Recent studies have shown that yeh fimbrial gene cluster is present in 94 % of Escherichia coli isolates and responsible for adhesion to some abiotic surfaces. Our preliminary comparative genomic analysis of 96 complete genomes of different E. coli strains revealed that the major region of this gene cluster is unique to E. coli O157:H7 strains. To investigate the detail of the analysis, we BLAST the sequence of this gene cluster against the existing complete and draft genome sequences of different E. coli strains and other genera belonging to Enterobacteriaceae family in NCBI database. The results showed that this gene cluster is properly unique to E. coli O157:H7 strains and could be used as a stable and specific genetic signature for the identification of this serotype. In this respect, we also experimentally validated the specificity of this gene cluster for the identification of E. coli O157:H7 strains by loop-mediated isothermal amplification method.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the joint financial support of this investigation by the Research Council of Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman (Kerman, Iran) and Iran National Science Foundation (INSF) (Grant No. 92007684).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, 76169-14111, Kerman, Iran

    Hadi Ravan & Mojdeh Amandadi

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  1. Hadi Ravan
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  2. Mojdeh Amandadi
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Correspondence to Hadi Ravan.

Electronic Supplementary Material

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284_2015_842_MOESM1_ESM.jpg

Supplementary S1: Alignment of nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequence of yehB gene in E. coli O157:H7 with other types of E. coli, Shigella and Salmonella genomes. Numbers and gray and black boxes on the top of reference nucleotide sequence (AE005174) show numbers of nucleotides. Highly conserved (100 %) nucleotides of yehB gene in E. coli O157:H7 genomes are indicated by black boxes on the top of reference nucleotide sequence. Nucleotides and amino acids which are the same as reference sequence are shown as dot. Variable nucleotides and amino acids are shown as a black letter. Filled black boxes below the reference amino acid sequence are conserved amino acids for E. coli O157:H7. Gray boxes include the best target regions of this gene for the identification of E. coli O157:H7 and the numbers show the position of these regions on the reference sequence. Supplementary material 1 (JPEG 3449 kb)

284_2015_842_MOESM2_ESM.jpg

Supplementary S2: Alignment of nucleotide sequence and deduced amino acid sequence of yehC gene in E. coli O157:H7 genomes whit other types of E. coli, Shigella and Salmonella genomes.. Numbers and gray and black boxes on the top of reference nucleotide sequence (AE005174) show numbers of nucleotides. Highly conserved (100 %) nucleotides of yehC gene in E. coli O157:H7 genomes are indicated by black boxes on the top of reference nucleotide sequence. Nucleotides and amino acids which are the same as reference sequence are shown as dot.Variable nucleotides and amino acids are shown as a black letter. Filled black boxes below the reference amino acid sequence are conserved amino acids for E. coli O157:H7. 322-bp specific region of this gene and its best target region for the identification of E. coli O157:H7 are indicated by black boxes and the numbers show the position of these regions on the reference sequence. Supplementary material 2 (JPEG 1588 kb)

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Ravan, H., Amandadi, M. Analysis of yeh Fimbrial Gene Cluster in Escherichia coli O157:H7 in Order to Find a Genetic Marker for this Serotype. Curr Microbiol 71, 274–282 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-015-0842-6

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