Escherichia coli K1-specific bacteriophage CUS-3 distribution and function in phase-variable capsular polysialic acid O acetylation.

ABSTRACT: Escherichia coli K1 is the leading cause of human neonatal sepsis and meningitis and is important in other clinical syndromes of both humans and domestic animals; in this strain the polysialic acid capsule (K1 antigen) functions by inhibiting innate immunity. Recent discovery of the phase-variable capsular O acetylation mechanism indicated that the O-acetyltransferase gene, neuO, is carried on a putative K1-specific prophage designated CUS-3 (E. L. Deszo, S. M. Steenbergen, D. I. Freedberg, and E. R. Vimr, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 102:5564-5569, 2005). Here we describe the isolation and characterization of a CUS-3 derivative (CUS-3a), demonstrating its morphology, lysogenization of a sensitive host, and the distribution of CUS-3 among a collection of 111 different K1 strains. The 40,207-

SUBMITTER: King MR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1951898 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature