Evolutionary and functional relationships of colonization factor antigen i and other class 5 adhesive fimbriae of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli.

ABSTRACT: Colonization factor antigen I (CFA/I) is the archetype of eight genetically related fimbriae of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) designated class 5 fimbriae. Assembled by the alternate chaperone pathway, these organelles comprise a rigid stalk of polymerized major subunits and an apparently tip-localized minor adhesive subunit. We examined the evolutionary relationships of class 5-specific structural proteins and correlated these with functional properties. We sequenced the gene clusters encoding coli surface antigen 4 (CS4), CS14, CS17, CS19, and putative colonization factor antigen O71 (PCFO71) and analyzed the deduced proteins and the published homologs of CFA/I, CS1, and CS2. Multiple alignment and phylogenetic analysis of the proteins encoded by each operon define three subclas

SUBMITTER: Anantha RP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC529125 | biostudies-literature | 2004 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature