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Infection and Immunity, October 2007, p. 4891-4899, Vol. 75, No. 10
0019-9567/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.00484-07
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Respiration of Escherichia coli in the Mouse Intestine{triangledown}

Shari A. Jones,1 Fatema Z. Chowdhury,1 Andrew J. Fabich,1 April Anderson,1 Darrel M. Schreiner,1 Anetra L. House,1 Steven M. Autieri,2 Mary P. Leatham,2 Jeremy J. Lins,2 Mathias Jorgensen,2 Paul S. Cohen,2 and Tyrrell Conway1*

Advanced Center for Genome Technology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma 73019,1 Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island 028812

Received 3 April 2007/ Returned for modification 1 June 2007/ Accepted 30 July 2007

Mammals are aerobes that harbor an intestinal ecosystem dominated by large numbers of anaerobic microorganisms. However, the role of oxygen in the intestinal ecosystem is largely unexplored. We used systematic mutational analysis to determine the role of respiratory metabolism in the streptomycin-treated mouse model of intestinal colonization. Here we provide evidence that aerobic respiration is required for commensal and pathogenic Escherichia coli to colonize mice. Our results showed that mutants lacking ATP synthase, which is required for all respiratory energy-conserving metabolism, were eliminated by competition with respiratory-competent wild-type strains. Mutants lacking the high-affinity cytochrome bd oxidase, which is used when oxygen tensions are low, also failed to colonize. However, the low-affinity cytochrome bo3 oxidase, which is used when oxygen tension is high, was found not to be necessary for colonization. Mutants lacking either nitrate reductase or fumarate reductase also had major colonization defects. The results showed that the entire E. coli population was dependent on both microaerobic and anaerobic respiration, consistent with the hypothesis that the E. coli niche is alternately microaerobic and anaerobic, rather than static. The results indicate that success of the facultative anaerobes in the intestine depends on their respiratory flexibility. Despite competition for relatively scarce carbon sources, the energy efficiency provided by respiration may contribute to the widespread distribution (i.e., success) of E. coli strains as commensal inhabitants of the mammalian intestine.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Botany and Microbiology, The University of Oklahoma, 101 David L. Boren Blvd., Norman, OK 73019-0245. Phone: (405) 325-1683. Fax: (405) 325-3442. E-mail: tconway{at}ou.edu

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 13 August 2007.

Editor: V. J. DiRita

Infection and Immunity, October 2007, p. 4891-4899, Vol. 75, No. 10
0019-9567/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.00484-07
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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  • Fabich, A. J., Jones, S. A., Chowdhury, F. Z., Cernosek, A., Anderson, A., Smalley, D., McHargue, J. W., Hightower, G. A., Smith, J. T., Autieri, S. M., Leatham, M. P., Lins, J. J., Allen, R. L., Laux, D. C., Cohen, P. S., Conway, T. (2008). Comparison of Carbon Nutrition for Pathogenic and Commensal Escherichia coli Strains in the Mouse Intestine. Infect. Immun. 76: 1143-1152 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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