Characterization of the contribution to virulence of three large plasmids of avian pathogenic Escherichia coli chi7122 (O78:K80:H9).

ABSTRACT: Despite the fact that the presence of multiple large plasmids is a defining feature of extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (ExPEC), such as avian pathogenic E. coli (APEC), and despite the fact that these bacteria pose a considerable threat to both human and animal health, characterization of these plasmids is still limited. In this study, after successfully curing APEC of its plasmids, we were able to investigate, for the first time, the contribution to virulence of three plasmids, pAPEC-1 (103 kb), pAPEC-2 (90 kb), and pAPEC-3 (60 kb), from APEC strain chi7122 individually as well as in all combinations in the wild-type background. Characterization of the different strains revealed unique features of APEC virulence. In vivo assays showed that curing the three plasmids resulted in

SUBMITTER: Mellata M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2849417 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature