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Infection and Immunity, July 2000, p. 4145-4154, Vol. 68, No. 7
0019-9567/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Relationship between the Tsh Autotransporter and Pathogenicity of Avian Escherichia coli and Localization and Analysis of the tsh Genetic Region

Charles M. Dozois,1 Maryvonne Dho-Moulin,2,* Annie Brée,2 John M. Fairbrother,3 Clarisse Desautels,3 and Roy Curtiss III1

Department of Biology, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri 631301; Station de Pathologie Aviaire et de Parasitologie, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, 37380 Nouzilly, France2; and Département de Pathologie et Microbiologie, Faculté de Médecine Vétérinaire, Université de Montréal, St. Hyacinthe, Québec J2S 7C6, Canada3

Received 29 December 1999/Returned for modification 25 February 2000/Accepted 7 April 2000

The temperature-sensitive hemagglutinin Tsh is a member of the autotransporter group of proteins and was first identified in avian-pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) strain chi 7122. The prevalence of tsh was investigated in 300 E. coli isolates of avian origin and characterized for virulence in a 1-day-old chick lethality test. Results indicate that among the tsh-positive APEC isolates, 90.6% belonged to the highest virulence class. Experimental inoculation of chickens with chi 7122 and an isogenic tsh mutant demonstrated that Tsh may contribute to the development of lesions within the air sacs of birds but is not required for subsequent generalized infection manifesting as perihepatitis, pericarditis, and septicemia. Conjugation and hybridization experiments revealed that the tsh gene is located on a ColV-type plasmid in many of the APEC strains studied, including strain chi 7122, near the colicin V genes in most of these strains. DNA sequences flanking the tsh gene of strain chi 7122 include complete and partial insertion sequences and phage-related DNA sequences, some of which were also found on virulence plasmids and pathogenicity islands present in various E. coli pathotypes and other pathogenic members of the Enterobacteriaceae. These results demonstrate that the tsh gene is frequently located on the ColV virulence plasmid in APEC and suggest a possible role of Tsh in the pathogenicity of E. coli for chickens in the early stages of infection.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Station de Pathologie Aviaire et de Parasitologie, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Centre de Recherches de Tours-Nouzilly, 37380 Nouzilly, France. Phone: (33) 2 47 42 77 63. Fax: (33) 2 47 42 77 74. E-mail: dhomouli{at}tours.inra.fr.

Infection and Immunity, July 2000, p. 4145-4154, Vol. 68, No. 7
0019-9567/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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