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The frequency of expression of pyelonephritis‐associated pili is under regulatory control
Author(s) -
Low D.,
Robinson E. N.,
McGee Z. A.,
Falkow S.
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
molecular microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.857
H-Index - 247
eISSN - 1365-2958
pISSN - 0950-382X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2958.1987.tb01940.x
Subject(s) - pilin , pilus , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , strain (injury) , subcloning , population , gene , plasmid , escherichia coli , genetics , anatomy , demography , sociology
Summary The Bscherfchia coli urinary tract Isolate C1212 contains two pyelonephritis‐associated pili ( pap ) DNA sequences designated here as pap ‐17 and pap ‐21. Each of these pap sequences encodes antigenically‐distinct pilin monomers, pllin‐17 and pilin‐21, respectively. Most individual strain C1212 cells isolated from a single bacterial colony expressed pilin‐21. Only a small fraction (5%) of strain C1212 cells expressed pilin‐17. Most of the latter population simultaneously expressed pilin‐21, but a low percentage of cells expressed pill composed of pilin‐17 alone. In contrast, almost every E. coli K‐12 cell containing multicopy pap‐17 expressed pilin‐17 at the ceil surface. These results Indicated that the regulation of pilin‐17 expression observed for strain C1212 was lost when pap ‐17 was in the multicopy state. Transfer of pap‐17 to a single copy vector resulted in a pilin‐17 expression frequency lower than strain C1212 (1%). Using E. coli K‐12 containing single copy pap‐17, we found that the frequency of piiin‐17 expression increased about 15‐foid when pap‐21 was present in multiple copies in trans. Subcloning of pap‐21 showed that a 2.2 kilobase‐pair DNA sequence adjacent to, but not including, the pilin‐21 structural gene was sufficient for activation of pilin‐17 expression.