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Infection and Immunity, December 2008, p. 5466-5477, Vol. 76, No. 12
0019-9567/08/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/IAI.00875-08
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Bacteriophage 2851 Is a Prototype Phage for Dissemination of the Shiga Toxin Variant Gene 2c in Escherichia coli O157:H7
,
Eckhard Strauch,1
Jens Andre Hammerl,1
Antje Konietzny,1
Susanne Schneiker-Bekel,3
Walter Arnold,3
Alexander Goesmann,4
Alfred Pühler,3 and
Lothar Beutin2*
Molecular Diagnostics and Genetics, Department of Biological Safety, Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), 12277 Berlin, Germany,1 National Reference Laboratory for Escherichia coli, Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), 12277 Berlin, Germany,2 Department of Genetics, Bielefeld University, 33594 Bielefeld, Germany,3 Center for Biotechnology (CeBiTec), Bielefeld University, D-33594 Bielefeld, Germany4
Received 16 July 2008/ Returned for modification 19 August 2008/ Accepted 19 September 2008
The production of Shiga toxin (Stx) (verocytotoxin) is a major virulence factor of Escherichia coli O157:H7 strains (Shiga toxin-producing E. coli [STEC] O157). Two types of Shiga toxins, designated Stx1 and Stx2, are produced in STEC O157. Variants of the Stx2 type (Stx2, Stx2c) are associated with high virulences of these strains for humans. A bacteriophage designated 2851 from a human STEC O157 encoding the Stx2c variant was described previously. Nucleotide sequence analysis of the phage 2851 genome revealed 75 predicted coding sequences and indicated a mosaic structure typical for lambdoid phages. Analyses of free phages and K-12 phage 2851 lysogens revealed that upon excision from the bacterial chromosome, the loss of a phage-encoded IS629 element leads to fusion of phage antA and antB genes, with the generation of a recombined antAB gene encoding a strong antirepressor. In wild-type E. coli O157 as well as in K-12 strains, phage 2851 was found to be integrated in the sbcB locus. Additionally, phage 2851 carries an open reading frame which encodes an OspB-like type III effector similar to that found in Shigella spp. Investigation of 39 stx2c E. coli O157 strains revealed that all except 1 were positive for most phage 2851-specific genes and possessed a prophage with the same border sequences integrated into the sbcB locus. Phage 2851-specific sequences were absent from most stx2c-negative E. coli O157 strains, and we suggest that phage 2851-like phages contributed significantly to the dissemination of the Stx2c variant toxin within this group of E. coli.
* Corresponding author. Mailing address: National Reference Laboratory for Escherichia coli, Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Diedersdorfer Weg 1, D-12277 Berlin, Germany. Phone: 49 30 8412 2259. Fax: 49 30 8412 2983. E-mail: l.beutin{at}bfr.bund.de
Published ahead of print on 29 September 2008.
Supplemental material for this article may be found at http://iai.asm.org/.
Infection and Immunity, December 2008, p. 5466-5477, Vol. 76, No. 12
0019-9567/08/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/IAI.00875-08
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
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