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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, August 2005, p. 4875-4878, Vol. 71, No. 8
0099-2240/05/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/AEM.71.8.4875-4878.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Presence and Characterization of a Mosaic Genomic Island Which Distinguishes Sorbitol-Fermenting Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H from E. coli O157:H7
Andreas Janka,1
Georg Becker,1
Anne-Katharina Sonntag,1
Martina Bielaszewska,1
Ulrich Dobrindt,2 and
Helge Karch1*
Institut für Hygiene, Universitätsklinikum Münster, Robert-Koch Str. 41, D-48149 Münster, Germany,1
Institut für Molekulare Infektionsbiologie, Universität Würzburg, Röntgenring 11, D-97070 Würzburg, Germany2
Received 5 August 2004/
Accepted 21 February 2005

ABSTRACT
A mosaic genomic island comprising
Shigella resistance locus
(SRL) sequences flanked by segments of
Escherichia coli O157:H7
strain EDL933 O islands 43, 81, and 82 was identified in sorbitol-fermenting
(SF) enterohemorrhagic
Escherichia coli (EHEC) O157:H
strain 493/89. This mosaic island is absent from strain EDL933.
PCR targeting the SRL-related sequence is a useful tool to distinguish
SF EHEC O157:H
from EHEC O157:H7.

INTRODUCTION
Sorbitol-fermenting (SF) enterohemorrhagic
Escherichia coli (EHEC) O157:H
have been implicated in outbreaks, as well
as sporadic cases of diarrhea and hemolytic-uremic syndrome
(
1,
9). Multilocus enzyme electrophoresis and sequence typing
indicate that SF EHEC O157:H
are closely related to EHEC
O157:H7 and to
E. coli O55:H7 (
16). SF EHEC O157:H
also
possess a complete gene cluster encoding flagella, but loss
of motility in these strains is caused by a 12-bp in-frame deletion
in
flhC that is required for transcriptional activation of genes
involved in flagellin biosynthesis (
11). The genome sequencing
of EHEC O157:H7 strains EDL933 and Sakai (
6,
13) demonstrated
numerous islands of inserted DNA (O islands or SpLES) in both
E. coli O157 pathogens that are absent from nonpathogenic
E. coli K-12 strain MG1655 (
3). To identify strain-specific genomic
differences, suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) has
been used as a highly effective method (
7,
15). This technique
allows the identification of sequences that are present on one
genome ("the tester") but not the other genome ("the driver")
(
7,
15). SSH between Shiga toxin-producing
E. coli O91:H21 patient
isolate and a nonpathogenic
E. coli strain identified sequences
from the
E. coli O91:H21 virulence plasmids that were homologous
to
Shigella flexneri (
15). The latter organism also contains
a cluster of genes known as the
Shigella resistance locus (SRL)
that encodes resistance to streptomycin, ampicillin, chloramphenicol,
and tetracycline (
19). SRL is located within a 66-kb pathogenicity
island (designated SRL PAI) in
S. flexneri 2a strain YSH6000
(
19); this PAI also carries a ferric-dicitrate uptake system
(
fec) (
10).

SSH.
Using SSH between SF EHEC O157:H
strain 493/89 and EHEC
O157:H7 strain EDL933 as described previously (
7) and subsequent
sequence analysis, several genes that are not present in
E. coli O157:H7 strain EDL933 were identified. Some of them encoding
potential virulence factors such as EHEC factor for adherence
(
efa1), cytolethal distending toxin (
cdt-V), and Sfp fimbriae
(
sfp) have been characterized in our previous studies (
4,
7,
8). The other genes detected by SSH and sequence analysis, which
were present in strain 493/89 but absent from strain EDL933,
demonstrated 96 to 98% homology to the respective genes of
E. coli K-12. They included
rspB (GenBank accession number
AE000254)
encoding starvation sensing protein,
ycgZ (GenBank accession
number
AE000215) and
ydfK (GenBank accession number
AE000252),
which encode hypothetical proteins. This strategy also provided
evidence for the presence of a fragment with homology to the
SRL PAI of
S. flexneri, which is absent from
E. coli K-12. Therefore,
we sequenced (primers supercos1fwd and supercos1rwd) (
7) one
clone from a cosmid library of strain 493/89 (
7), which contained
this fragment. Sequences were analyzed (DNASIS; Hitachi Software)
and compared to sequences from the NCBI database. The distribution
of the SRL PAI-related sequences among 196
E. coli O157:H7 or
H
and 12
E. coli O55:H7 strains isolated between 1987
and 2003 in five different countries (Table
1) was investigated
by using PCR with primers RL11679f (5'-GTAGATATTCGGATGACACA-3')
and 4290 (5'-CAGACAACCTTATCCCATCG-3') derived from the SRL sequence
of strain 493/89 (Fig.
1). PCR was performed in 30 cycles of
denaturing (94°C, 30 sec), annealing (55°C, 1 min),
and extension (72°C, 1 min), followed by a final extension
(72°C, 5 min). The absence of the SRL-related sequence spanned
by the primers RL11679f and 4290 in PCR-negative strains was
confirmed by Southern blot hybridization with an ECL Direct
Nucleic Acid Labeling and Detection Systems kit (Amersham Pharmacia
Biotech, Freiburg, Germany). This method was also used to test
the presence of
fecA,
iha,
ter, and
ure genes. For this purpose,
digoxigenin-labeled
fecA probe derived from
S. flexneri strain
YSH6000 (GenBank accession no.
AF326777) with primers Fec1 (5'-TGCCTTTGTTGTTGTCGTCA-3')
and Fec3 (5'-GAGACGCACAACCTGATGGT-3'), and
iha,
terC, and
ureC probes derived from strain EDL933 by PCR with primers Iha-I
(5'-CAG TTC AGT TTC GCA TTC ACC-3') and Iha-II (5'-GTA TGG CTC
TGA TGC GAT G-3'), TerC1 and TerC2 (
2), and UreC-f and UreC-r
(
5), respectively, were used. Antibiotic susceptibilities were
tested by using a standard disk diffusion method.

Identification of an SRL-related sequence-containing mosaic genomic island in SF EHEC O157:H strain 493/89.
A 19.9-kb fragment from a cosmid clone of SF
E. coli O157:H
strain 493/89 was completely sequenced. Both ends of the cosmid
insert are homologous to the genome of strain EDL933 and flank
an 8.8-kb fragment (GenBank accession no.
AJ534392) that is
absent from EDL933 (Fig.
1). This DNA sequence is highly homologous
to SRL of
S. flexneri strain YSH6000 (GenBank accession no.
AF326777) (
19). Figure
1 demonstrates the organization of the
19.9-kb fragment and of its putative flanking regions, which
was deduced by "shotgun" sequencing. The 8.8-kb region, which
exhibits no homology to EDL933, is flanked by stretches of the
O island (OI)-43 of EDL933 chromosome (GenBank accession numbers
AE005276 and
AE005277), which are ordered in opposite direction
to each other. These stretches encode a transposase-associated
protein and proteins with unknown function. They are furthermore
flanked by fragments of the EDL933 genome (GenBank accession
numbers
AE005425 to
AE005427), which encode a putative outer
membrane receptor for iron or colicin (OI-82), a penicillin-binding
protein, an exonuclease, and metabolic and hypothetical proteins.
Seven open reading frames (ORFs) of the
E. coli 493/89 cosmid
sequence are 88 to 97% homologous to ORFs 38, 39, 41, 42, 46,
and 48 of the SRL PAI. The order and distance of these ORFs
in strain 493/89 are comparable with those in the SRL PAI (Fig.
1). Five of these ORFs are located within the 8.8-kb 493/89
fragment which is absent from EDL933 (Fig.
1). For only two
of these SRL PAI ORFs (ORF 41 and ORF 46) a putative function
has been published (
3,
14). ORFs 39 and 48 are bacteriophage
P4 related; ORFs 46 and 48 exhibit, in addition, similarity
to prophage 933L (
19).

The iha, ure, and ter genes of E. coli O157:H7 strain EDL933 are absent from SF EHEC O157:H strain 493/89.
While nonvirulence loci (GenBank accession numbers
AE005276 and
AE005277) are present on the OI-43 stretches found within
the mosaic genomic island of SF EHEC O157:H
strain 493/89,
the
iha,
ure, and
ter genes present on OI-43 of strain EDL933
(
13,
18), which encode a putative adhesin Iha (IrgA homologue
adhesin) (
18), urease (
5), and tellurite resistance (
2), have
not been identified on this mosaic island. Moreover, as demonstrated
by Southern blot hybridization with the respective probes, they
are absent from the genome of SF EHEC O157:H
strain 493/89
(data not shown).

Absence of multiple antibiotic resistance and fecA from SF EHEC O157:H strain 493/89.
Strain 493/89 is susceptible to ampicillin, streptomycin, and
tetracycline and resistant to chloramphenicol. Thus, the multiple
antibiotic resistance encoded by the SRL PAI in
S. flexneri (
19) is absent from strain 493/89, a finding consistent with
the absence of the antibiotic resistance-loci in this strain.
fecA probe hybridized to a 10-kb HindIII DNA fragment from
S. flexneri 2a strain MT90 but not to DNA from strain 493/89 (data
not shown).

Distribution of SRL-related sequences among E. coli O157.
PCR targeting the SRL-related sequence of strain 493/89 (Fig.
1) demonstrated that this region was present in each of 88 SF
EHEC O157:H
but in none of 101 EHEC O157:H7 of different
stx genotypes (Table
1). It was also absent from each of 12
E. coli O55:H7 strains that are proposed to be ancestral to
E. coli O157:H7 and SF
E. coli O157:H
(
16). The presence
of the SRL-related sequences in seven
stx-negative SF
E. coli O157:H
(Table
1) confirms that these strains are closely
related to
stx-positive SF
E. coli O157:H
, as previously
demonstrated by their spectrum of putative virulence genes (
4,
9). The absence of the SRL-related 493/89 sequence from
E. coli O157:H7 strains was confirmed by Southern blot hybridization
with digoxigenin-labeled probe derived from strain 493/89 with
primers RL11679f and 4290. Taken together, the experiments on
the distribution of the SRL-related sequences demonstrate that
within members of EHEC 1 group consisting of
E. coli O55:H7,
E. coli O157:H7, and SF
E. coli O157:H
, SRL-related sequences
were only present in SF EHEC O157:H
and their
stx-negative
derivatives.
The identification of the genomic mosaic island in SF EHEC O157:H strain 493/89 extends recent reports on the presence of EDL933 OI mosaics in non-O157:H7 EHEC strains (12, 17). However, in comparison to the mosaic islands reported in EHEC O26 (12) and EHEC O113 (17), which contain putative virulence genes (12, 17), none of the ORFs of the 493/89 mosaic genomic island encodes a product currently known to be associated with virulence. Specifically, the OI-43 iha gene encoding the Iha putative adhesin (18) is absent from the OI-43 segment present in strain 493/89. Moreover, this OI-43 segment lacks genes of ter and ure operons located on OI-43 of EDL933 (13), which encode tellurite resistance and urease, respectively, in E. coli O157:H7 (2, 5). This is consistent with a general absence of ter genes (and, consequently, tellurite resistance), and ure genes from SF EHEC O57:H clinical isolates as demonstrated in our previous studies (2, 5).
In a study on the distribution of SRL among members of the family Enterobacteriaceae (20), SRL PAI has been widespread among Shigella isolates resistant to the four respective antibiotics (20). Among 24 pathogenic E. coli strains investigated, including enteropathogenic E. coli, enteroinvasive E. coli, enteroaggregative E. coli, enterotoxigenic E. coli, and EHEC, some contained single markers of the SRL PAI (int, orf58, and fecA) but showed no SRL-encoded antibiotic resistance, suggesting that the SRL PAI is not present in these strains (20).
All EHEC O157:H7 and SF EHEC O157:H possess rfbO157, fliC encoding the H7 antigen, eae-
, and largely (O157:H7) or obligatorily (SF O157) contain stx2 genes (9; the present study). Phenotypic markers may not reliably distinguish EHEC O157:H7 from SF EHEC O157:H strains because some O157:H7 strains ferment sorbitol rapidly (within 24 to 48 h) and SF O157:H strains can display delayed sorbitol fermentation (after 24 h) (H. Karch, unpublished data). Also, the intensity of the color reaction indicating sorbitol fermentation on sorbitol MacConkey agar substantially varies among SF EHEC O157:H strains and, moreover, it rapidly decreases during prolonged incubation or storage at 4°C (H. Karch, unpublished data). Therefore, among EHEC O157 which harbor stx2 but not stx1, SRL-related sequences detected by PCR developed in the present study represent a valuable marker for distinguishing O157:H7 from SF O157:H strains. Moreover, the conservation of the SRL sequences in all 82 SF EHEC O157:H strains investigated indicates a clonal origin of such strains and suggests a considerable stability of this element.
In the SRL PAI sequence, a similar organization and orientation exists as in the prophage P4 genome. This infers a common origin of sequences of parts of phage P4 and the SRL PAI. P4 could be a prophage of E. coli O157:H, as well as of Shigella, and hence be responsible for the partial similar structures of both pathovars. The presence of several markers of the SRL PAI in SF E. coli O157:H might indicate that these strains diverged from the evolutionary pathway of EHEC O157:H7 at an early stage and acquired SRL. It was reported that SRL can undergo both integrase-mediated and non-integrase-mediated excision in the same strain (19). Functional analysis of the SRL-related ORFs is under way in an attempt to explain a mode of acquisition and/or deletion of parts of this DNA segment by SF E. coli O157:H.
The sequence of the 8,846-bp SRL-related fragment from strain 493/89 has been deposited in GenBank (accession no. AJ534392).

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This study was supported by grants from the Bundesministerium
für Bildung und Forschung Project Network of Competence
Pathogenomics Alliance "Functional Genomic Research on Enterohemorrhagic
Escherichia coli" (BD 119523) and from the First European Graduate
College "Gene Regulation in and by Microbial Pathogens."
We thank Phillip Tarr (Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Mo.) for critical reading of the manuscript and stimulating discussions.

FOOTNOTES
* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Institut für Hygiene, Universitätsklinikum Münster, Robert-Koch Str. 41, D-48149 Münster, Germany Phone: 49-251-8355361. Fax: 49-251-8355341. E-mail:
hkarch{at}uni-muenster.de.


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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, August 2005, p. 4875-4878, Vol. 71, No. 8
0099-2240/05/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/AEM.71.8.4875-4878.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
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