This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Flannery, E. L.
Right arrow Articles by Mobley, H. L. T.
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Flannery, E. L.
Right arrow Articles by Mobley, H. L. T.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Infection and Immunity, November 2009, p. 4887-4894, Vol. 77, No. 11
0019-9567/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.00705-09
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Identification of a Modular Pathogenicity Island That Is Widespread among Urease-Producing Uropathogens and Shares Features with a Diverse Group of Mobile Elements{triangledown}

Erika L. Flannery,1 Lona Mody,2,4 and Harry L. T. Mobley3*

Department of Epidemiology, University of Michigan School of Public Health,1 Departments of Internal Medicine,2 Microbiology and Immunology, University of Michigan Medical School,3 Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center, Veteran Affairs Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Ann Arbor, Michigan 481094

Received 23 June 2009/ Returned for modification 2 August 2009/ Accepted 12 August 2009

Pathogenicity islands (PAIs) are a specific group of genomic islands that contribute to genomic variability and virulence of bacterial pathogens. Using a strain-specific comparative genomic hybridization array, we report the identification of a 94-kb PAI, designated ICEPm1, that is common to Proteus mirabilis, Providencia stuartii, and Morganella morganii. These organisms are highly prevalent etiologic agents of catheter-associated urinary tract infections (caUTI), the most common hospital acquired infection. ICEPm1 carries virulence factors that are important for colonization of the urinary tract, including a known toxin (Proteus toxic agglutinin) and the high pathogenicity island of Yersinia spp. In addition, this PAI shares homology and gene organization similar to the PAIs of other bacterial pathogens, several of which have been classified as mobile integrative and conjugative elements (ICEs). Isolates from this study were cultured from patients with caUTI and show identical sequence similarity at three loci within ICEPm1, suggesting its transfer between bacterial genera. Screening for the presence of ICEPm1 among P. mirabilis colonizing isolates showed that ICEPm1 is more prevalent in urine isolates compared to P. mirabilis strains isolated from other body sites (P < 0.0001), further suggesting that it contributes to niche specificity and is positively selected for in the urinary tract.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Michigan Medical School, 5641 Medical Science Building II, 1150 West Medical Center Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48109. E-mail: hmobley{at}umich.edu

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 17 August 2009.

Editor: S. R. Blanke

Infection and Immunity, November 2009, p. 4887-4894, Vol. 77, No. 11
0019-9567/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.00705-09
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»