Mouse Intestine Selects Nonmotile flhDC Mutants of Escherichia coli MG1655 with Increased Colonizing Ability and Better Utilization of Carbon Sources

D-Gluconate which is primarily catabolized via the Entner-Doudoroff (ED) pathway, has been implicated as being important for colonization of the streptomycin-treated mouse large intestine by Escherichia coli MG1655, a human commensal strain. In the present study, we report that an MG1655 [Delta]edd...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Infection and Immunity 2005-12, Vol.73 (12), p.8039-8049
Main Authors: Leatham, Mary P, Stevenson, Sarah J, Gauger, Eric J, Krogfelt, Karen A, Lins, Jeremy J, Haddock, Traci L, Autieri, Steven M, Conway, Tyrrell, Cohen, Paul S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Bacteriology
Biological and medical sciences
Carbohydrate Metabolism - genetics
DNA-Binding Proteins - genetics
Escherichia coli
Escherichia coli - genetics
Escherichia coli - growth & development
Escherichia coli - metabolism
Escherichia coli Proteins - genetics
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Gene Deletion
Genes, Bacterial
Gluconates - metabolism
Intestines - microbiology
Mice
Microbiology
Miscellaneous
Molecular Pathogenesis
Trans-Activators - genetics
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Summary:D-Gluconate which is primarily catabolized via the Entner-Doudoroff (ED) pathway, has been implicated as being important for colonization of the streptomycin-treated mouse large intestine by Escherichia coli MG1655, a human commensal strain. In the present study, we report that an MG1655 [Delta]edd mutant defective in the ED pathway grows poorly not only on gluconate as a sole carbon source but on a number of other sugars previously implicated as being important for colonization, including L-fucose, D-gluconate, D-glucuronate, N-acetyl-D-glucosamine, D-mannose, and D-ribose. Furthermore, we show that the mouse intestine selects mutants of MG1655 [Delta]edd and wild-type MG1655 that have improved mouse intestine-colonizing ability and grow 15 to 30% faster on the aforementioned sugars. The mutants of MG1655 [Delta]edd and wild-type MG1655 selected by the intestine are shown to be nonmotile and to have deletions in the flhDC operon, which encodes the master regulator of flagellar biosynthesis. Finally, we show that [Delta]flhDC mutants of wild-type MG1655 and MG1655 [Delta]edd constructed in the laboratory act identically to those selected by the intestine; i.e., they grow better than their respective parents on sugars as sole carbon sources and are better colonizers of the mouse intestine.
ISSN:0019-9567
1098-5522
DOI:10.1128/IAI.73.12.8039-8049.2005