Comparison of asymptomatic bacteriuria Escherichia coli isolates from healthy individuals versus those from hospital patients shows that long-term bladder colonization selects for attenuated virulence phenotypes.

ABSTRACT: Asymptomatic bacteriuria (ABU) is a condition where bacteria stably colonize the urinary tract, in a manner closely resembling commensalism at other mucosal sites. The patients carry >10(5) CFU/ml for extended periods of time and rarely develop symptoms. Contrasting the properties of ABU strains to those of uropathogenic isolates causing symptomatic infection is therefore highly relevant to understand mechanisms of bacterial adaptation. The prototype ABU strain Escherichia coli 83972 has a smaller genome than uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) strains with deletions or point mutations in several virulence genes, suggesting that ABU strains undergo a programmed reductive evolution within human hosts. This study addressed if these observations can be generalized. Strains causing ABU in outpatients

SUBMITTER: Salvador E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3264318 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature