The secreted hemolysins of Proteus mirabilis, Proteus vulgaris, and Morganella morganii are genetically related to each other and to the alpha-hemolysin of Escherichia coli.

Secreted hemolysins were extremely common among clinical isolates of Proteus mirabilis, Proteus vulgaris, and Morganella morganii, and hemolytic activity was either cell associated or cell free. Southern hybridization of total DNA from hemolytic isolates to cloned regions of the Escherichia coli alpha-hemolysin (hly) determinant showed clear but incomplete homology between genes encoding production of hemolysins in the four species. One of the two E. coli secretion genes, hlyD, hybridized only with DNA from P. vulgaris and M. morganii, which produced cell-free hemolysis, but not with that from P. mirabilis, which showed only cell-associated activity. Molecular cloning of the genetic determinants of cell-free hemolytic activity from P. vulgaris and M. morganii chromosomal DNA allowed their functional analysis via inactivation with the transposons Tn1000 and Tn5. Both hemolysin determinants were about 7.5 kilobase pairs and comprised contiguous regions directing regulation, synthesis, and specific secretion out of the cell. Transposon mutations which eliminated secretion of the Proteus and Morganella hemolysins could be complemented specifically by the E. coli hemolysin secretion genes hlyB or hlyD. Alignment of the physically and functionally defined hly determinants from P. vulgaris and M. morganii with that of the E. coli alpha-hemolysin confirmed a close genetic relationship but also indicated extensive evolutionary divergence.     

Colistin-induced surface changes in the cells of Proteus spp.

The effects of colistin on some strains of Proteus mirabilis, P. morganii and P. vulgaris are described. Two strains of P. mirabilis , NCTC 60 and NCTC 4199, took up greater amounts of colistin from solution than did the other strains. Pretreatment of strains 60 and 4199 resulted in osmotic instability and in increased susceptibility to Tris and deoxycholate. Colistin-induced lysis in Tris could be overcome by means of 0–16 mol/l sodium chloride or 0–33 mol/l sucrose. Pre-treated, but not control, cells of these two strains exposed to Tris (0–05 mol/l, pH 9) developed surface protuberances (blebs).     

Bacteriophage Typing of Proteus mirabilis, Proteus vulgaris, and Proteus morganii

A bacteriphage typing scheme for differentiating Proteus isolated from clinical specimens was developed. Twenty-one distinct patterns of lysis were seen when 15 bacteriophages isolated on 8 Proteus mirabilis, 1 P. vulgaris, and 1 P. morganii were used to type 162 of 189 (85.7%) P. mirabilis and P. vulgaris isolates. Seven phages isolated on 3 P. morganii were used to type 13 of 19 (68.4%) P. morganii isolates. Overall, 84.1% of the 208 isolates were lysed by at least 1 phage at routine test dilution (RTD) or 1,000 x RTD. Fifty isolates, retyped several weeks after the initial testing, showed no changes in lytic patterns. The phages retained their titers after storage at 4 C for several months. A computer analysis of the data showed that there was no relationship between the source of the isolate and bacteriophage type. This bacteriophage typing system may provide epidemiological information on strains involved in human infections.     

The occurrence of the trehalose fermenting, tetracycline and polymyxin resistant phenotype among the Enterobacteriaceae

In Proteus morganii, P. mirabilis, and Providencia stuartii the ability to ferment trehalose and resistance to tetracycline were associated in 90%-97% of the strains. The same was true of at least 78% of the strains of Serratia marcescens. Proteus vulgaris showed a more quantitative association of the two traits. As the characters occur independently in 3-10% of the strains, the association is considered to be due to simultaneous selection in some natural niche. The trehalose fermenting, tetracycline and polymyxin resistant species ferment few other carbohydrates, fewer than the remainder of the Serratia species.     

Proteus virulence: involvement of the pore forming alpha-hemolysin (a short review)

The genus Proteus belongs to the tribe of Proteae in the family of Enterobacteriaceae, and consists of five species: P. mirabilis, P. vulgaris, P. morganii, P. penneri and P. myxofaciens. They are distinguished from the rest of Enterobacteriaceae by their ability to deaminate phenylalanine and tryptophane. They hydrolyze urea and gelatin and fail to ferment lactose, mannose, dulcitol and malonate; and do not form lysine and arginine decarboxylase or beta-galactosidase [1]. Colonies produce distinct "burned chocolate" odor and frequently show the characteristics of swarming motility on solid media. P. mirabilis, P. vulgaris and P. morganii are widely recognized human pathogens. They have been isolated from urinary tract infections, wounds, ear, and nosocomial bacteremic infections, often in immuncompromised patients [2-6]. P. myxofaciens has no clinical interest to this time. P. penneri as species nova was nominated by the recommendation of Hickman and co-workers [7]. Formerly it was recognized as P. vulgaris biogroup 1 or indole negative P. vulgaris [8, 9]. Although it has been less commonly isolated from clinical samples than the other three human pathogenic Proteus species, it has nevertheless been connected with infections of the urinary tract, wounds and has been isolated from the feces of both healthy and diarrheic individuals [10-12]. Potential virulence factors responsible for virulence of Proteae are: IgA protease, urease, type3 fimbriae associated with MR/K haemagglutinins of at least two antigenic types, endotoxin, swarming motility and HlyA and/or HpmA type hemolysins [for review see ref. 13]. In the followings we give a survey of accumulated concepts about the position and characteristics of HlyA type alpha-hemolysins both in general and with emphasis on virulence functions in the tribe of Proteae.     

Metabolism of L(−)-carnitine by Enterobacteriaceae under aerobic conditions

Different Enterobacteriaceae, such as Escherichia coli, Proteus vulgaris and Proteus mirabilis, are able to convert L(-)-carnitine, via crotonobetaine, into gamma-butyrobetaine in the presence of carbon and nitrogen sources under aerobic conditions. Intermediates of L(-)-carnitine metabolism (crotonobetaine, gamma-butyrobetaine) could be detected by thin-layer chromatography. In parallel, L(-)-carnitine dehydratase, carnitine racemasing system and crotonobetaine reductase activities were determined enzymatically. Monoclonal antibodies against purified CaiB and CaiA from E. coli O44K74 were used to screen cell-free extracts of different Enterobacteriaceae (E. coli ATCC 25922, P. vulgaris, P. mirabilis, Citrobacter freundii, Enterobacter cloacae and Klebsiella pneumoniae) grown under aerobic conditions in the presence of L(-)-carnitine.     

Glutathione transferase in bacteria: subunit composition and antigenic characterization

The presence of glutathione transferase (GST; EC 2.5.1.18) in Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, E. coli ATCC 25422, Proteus vulgaris ATCC 8427, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853, Klebsiella oxytoca CIP 666, K. oxytoca AF 101, Enterobacter cloacae CIP 6085, Serratia marcescens CIP 6755, and Proteus mirabilis AF 2924 was investigated. Using 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene as substrate, GST activity was found in the glutathione-(GSH-)affinity-purified fraction of all strains tested. SDS-PAGE analysis of GSH-affinity-purified enzyme indicated that the GSTs of all these bacteria are dimers of two identical subunits of Mr about 22,500. Rabbit antiserum directed against the major isoenzyme present in Proteus mirabilis AF 2924, Pm-GST-6.0, was used to investigate the antigenic properties of bacterial GSTs. Western blot analysis indicated that a GST antigenically identical to Pm-GST-6.0 is present in Enterobacter cloacae CIP 6085, Escherichia coli ATCC 25422 and Proteus vulgaris ATCC 8427, but absent in Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Klebsiella oxytoca CIP 666, K. oxytoca AF 101 and Serratia marcescens CIP 6755. The presence of Pm-GST-6.0, but not mammalian GST, increased the MIC values of amikacin, ampicillin, cefotaxime, cephalothin and nalidixic acid for E. coli ATCC 25922. It is suggested that bacterial GST may represent a defense against the effects of antibiotics.     

Purification and properties of beta-lactamase from Proteus morganii.

The cephalosporin beta-lactamase was purified from a strain of Proteus morganii that showed resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics and produced the enzyme constitutively. The purified enzyme preparation gave a single protein band on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and consisted of a single polypeptide of molecular weight 38,000 to 40,000 from gel filtration of Sephadex G-100 and sodium dodecyl sulfate-acrylamide gel electrophoresis, its isoelectric point being pH 7.2 No cysteine residue was found in its amino acid composition. The specific activity was 190 mumol/min per mg of the purified enzyme protein for the hydrolysis of cephaloridine, the optimal pH was about 8.5 and the optimal temperature was 50 degrees C. Antibodies against the purified beta-lactamase inhibited not only the enzyme activity of the purified preparation, but also the enzyme activity of all of the other strains of P. morganii so far tested, regardless of whether the modes of their production were inducible or constitutive. None of the beta-lactamases produced by beta-lactam antibiotic-resistant strains of other species of Proteus was affected at all by the antibodies, thus showing that the purified cephalosporin beta-lactamase was of the species-specific type. The enzymological properties of the preparation have been compared with those of beta-lactamases derived from other gram-negative enteric bacteria.     

Regulation of hydrogenase activity in enterobacteria.

Proteus vulgaris, Escherichia coli, and Citrobacter freundii cells were devoid of hydrogenase activity when grown on complex medium or minimal medium plus glucose in the presence of saturating levels of dissolved oxygen. Anaerobically grown cells had appreciable hydrogenase activity. Cells grown anaerobically in the presence of CO (an inhibitor of hydrogenase) or nitrate (an electron acceptor) lacked hydrogenase activity. To make hydrogenase essential for anaerobic growth, cells were grown on fumarate, a nonfermentable carbon source. P. vulgaris and C. freundii evolved H2 gas under these conditions, and the hydrogenase-specific activity was 8 to 10 times greater than that in cells grown on glucose. Cell growth was inhibited by CO, and the cells grew but lacked hydrogenase activity when grown in the presence of nitrate. E. coli grew on fumarate plus H2, and the specific activity was five times greater than that in cells grown on glucose. Thus, hydrogenase activity is inducible and is expressed maximally when the enzyme is essential for cellular growth. Under conditions of growth where the enzyme would not be catalytically active, cells contain little active hydrogenase. Under anaerobic conditions where the enzyme is not essential for growth, the level of hydrogenase activity is intermediate.     

Site-specific modification of Escherichia coli DNA polymerase I large fragment with pyridoxal 5'-phosphate

Pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) is an inhibitor of DNA polymerase activity of Escherichia coli DNA polymerase I large fragment. Kinetic studies indicated that overall PLP inhibition was noncompetitive with respect to dNTP, and Hill plot analysis revealed that two molecules of PLP were involved in the inhibition. Reduction of the PLP-treated enzyme with sodium [3H]borohydride resulted in covalent incorporation of 3 mol of PLP/mol of enzyme. This incorporation was at lysine residues exclusively, and the PLP-modified enzyme was not capable of DNA polymerase activity. The presence of dNTP during the modification reaction blocked the incorporation of 1 mol of PLP/mol of enzyme. Similar results were obtained in the presence or absence of template-primer. These data indicate that a PLP target lysine is in or around a dNTP binding site that is essential for polymerase activity and that this binding site is functional in the absence of template-primer. The enzyme modified in the presence of dNTP, containing 2 mol of PLP/mol of enzyme, was capable of DNA polymerase activity but was unable to conduct elongation of product molecules beyond a short oligonucleotide length.     

Structure of the O-specific polysaccharide of Proteus vulgaris O37 and close serological relatedness of the lipopolysaccharides of P. vulgaris O37 and P. vulgaris O46

The O-specific polysaccharide (O-antigen) of the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of Proteus vulgaris O37 was studied by (1)H and (13)C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy before and after O-deacetylation and found to be structurally similar to that of P. vulgaris O46 studied earlier. The two polysaccharides have the same carbohydrate backbone and differ in the position and number of the O-acetyl groups only. Studies with O-antisera against the two strains using passive hemolysis test, enzyme immunosorbent assay, and Western blot revealed close serological relatedness of the LPSs of P. vulgaris O37 and O46. The O-acetyl groups were found to be of little importance for manifesting the O-specificity but to interfere with binding of anti-P. vulgaris O37 serum to P. vulgaris O46 antigen. Based on the data obtained, it was proposed to combine the strains studied in one Proteus serogroup O37 as subgroups O37a,37b and O37a,37c. A cross-reactivity of O-antisera against P. vulgaris O37 and O46 was observed with LPSs of three more Proteus strains, which could be substantiated by the presence of a common disaccharide fragment in the O-antigens.     

A rapid method for determination of in vitro susceptibility to antibiotics with a bulk acoustic wave bacterial growth biosensor

A novel bulk acoustic wave (BAW) bacterial growth biosensor was developed to study in vitro susceptibility by continuous monitoring of disturbances of bacterial growth at low antibiotic concentrations, followed by the accurate and rapid estimation of growth kinetic parameters and minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs). The susceptibilities of bacteria, e.g. Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Proteus vulgaris, Pr. morganii and Pr. mirabilis , to various antibiotics, e.g. penicillin, streptomycin, gentamicin and cefotaxime, were investigated, respectively, and the MICs were rapidly determined with a higher reproducibility than the conventional broth micro-dilution technique (BMDT). The effects of cell constant of conductivity electrode, pH and temperature on bacterial growth and biosensor signals were discussed in detail. The proposed method offers an effective alternative to the conventional methods.     

Expression of alr gene from Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC 13032 in Escherichia coli and molecular characterization of the recombinant alanine racemase

We constructed the high-expression system of the alr gene from Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC 13032 in Escherichia coli BL 21 (DE3) to characterize the enzymological and structural properties of the gene product, Alr. The Alr was expressed in the soluble fractions of the cell extract of the E. coli clone and showed alanine racemase activity. The purified Alr was a dimer with a molecular mass of 78 kDa. The Alr required pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) as a coenzyme and contained 2 mol of PLP per mol of the enzyme. The holoenzyme showed maximum absorption at 420 nm, while the reduced form of the enzyme showed it at 310 nm. The Alr was specific for alanine, and the optimum pH was observed at about nine. The Alr was relatively thermostable, and its half-life time at 60 degrees C was estimated to be 26 min. The K(m) and V(max) values were determined as follows: l-alanine to d-alanine, K(m) (l-alanine) 5.01 mM and V(max) 306 U/mg; d-alanine to l-alanine, K(m) (d-alanine) 5.24 mM and V(max) 345 U/mg. The K(eq) value was calculated to be 1.07 and showed good agreement with the theoretical value for the racemization reaction. The high substrate specificity of the Alr from C. glutamicum ATCC 13032 is expected to be a biocatalyst for d-alanine production from the l-counter part.     

Metabolic Variations of Proteus in the Memphis Area and Other Geographical Areas

The number of strains of Proteus studied was 413, and these were obtained from all clinical materials with the exception of fecal specimens. Lactose was fermented by 37 strains (P. inconstans, 29%; P. rettgeri, 16%; P. mirabilis, 4.2%; P. morganii, 3.6%; and P. vulgaris, 0%) of which 33 were from the genitourinary system. These 33 strains constituted 12.7% of the 260 strains isolated from this source. Biochemically, P. mirabilis was the least variable, and P. rettgeri was the most variable of the five species of Proteus tested. P. inconstans and P. rettgeri resembled each other more closely than any of the other species of Proteus. Comparison of results obtained in the Memphis area with those found in other locations showed that biochemical characteristics varied most with the substances citrate, salicin, xylose, trehalose, and mannitol. In contrast to earlier reports from Israel and England, none of the strains of P. inconstans in the present study was able to attack urea. All five species of Proteus tested (by the disc method) were highly susceptible to methenamine mandelate. P. mirabilis, P. morganii, and P. vulgaris were also highly susceptible to nitrofurantoin. All strains of P. mirabilis were susceptible to ampicillin. P. inconstans was the most resistant species of Proteus. Of the other 356 urease-positive strains tested, 79% were susceptible to chloramphenicol, whereas only 3.8% of the 56 urease-negative strains (P. inconstans) were susceptible. When tested with streptomycin, 61% of urease-positive strains were susceptible and 1.8% of the urease-negative strains were susceptible. Of 36 lactose-positive strains, 33.8% were susceptible to chloramphenicol, whereas 72.8% of all lactose-negative strains were susceptible. Again, of the lactose-positive strains, 17% were susceptible to streptomycin, whereas 56.3% of all lactose-negative strains were susceptible.     

Characterization of an alkaline lipase from Proteus vulgaris K80 and the DNA sequence of the encoding gene

Abstract A facultatively anaerobic bacterium producing an extracellular alkaline lipase was isolated from the soil collected near a sewage disposal plant in Korea and identified to be a strain of Proteus vulgaris . The molecular mass of the purified lipase K80 was estimated to be 31 kDa by SDS-PAGE. It was found to be an alkaline enzyme having maximum hydrolytid activity at pH 10, while fairly stable in a wide pH range from 5 to 11. The gene for lipase K80 was cloned in Escherichia coli . Sequence analysis showed an open reading frame of 861 bp coding for a polypeptide of 287 amino acid residues. The deduced amino acid sequence of the lipase gene had 46.3% identity to the lipase from Pseudomonas fragi .     

A Numerical Taxonomic Study of Proteus-Providence Bacteria

One hundred and six strains from the Proteus-Providence group and 27 other strains from the rest of the Enterobacteriaceae were subjected to 178 morphological. physiological and biochemical tests and the results analysed by computer. Most of the Proteus-Providence strains grouped into six main clusters; (1) Proteus mirabilis , (2) Proteus vulgaris , (3) Proteus morganii , (4) Providencia alcalifaciens, Shigella dysenteriae , (5) Proteus rettgeri , (6) Providencia stuartii . On the basis of these groupings a scheme has been drawn up for distinguishing between the different taxa in the Proteus-Providence group.     

Purification and properties of aldehyde dehydrogenase from Proteus vulgaris.

NADP-linked aldehyde dehydrogenase (aldehyde : NADP+ oxidoreductase, EC 1.2.1.4) was purified from Proteus vulgaris to the stage of homogeneity as judged by ultracentrifugation and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The molecular weight of the purified enzyme was estimated to be 130000 by gel filtration. The enzyme which was crystallized from ammonium sulfate solution, lost its activity. The enzyme did not require coenzyme A, and the reaction was completely dependent on ammonium ions which could be partially replaced by Rb+ or K+. The optimum pH was about 9. Broad substrate specificity was observed and Km values for propionaldehyde, acetaldehyde and isovaleraldehyde were 1.7 - 10(-5), 4 - 10(-5) and 3 - 10(-5) M, respectively. The physiological role of the enzyme in living cells is obscure, but might account for another degradative pathway of L-leucine in P. vulgaris differing from the established pathway.     

A bifunctional urease enhances survival of pathogenic Yersinia enterocolitica and Morganella morganii at low pH.

To infect a susceptible host, the gastrointestinal pathogen Yersinia enterocolitica must survive passage through the acid environment of the stomach. In this study, we showed that Y. enterocolitica serotype O8 survives buffered acidic conditions as low as pH 1.5 for long periods of time provided urea is available. Acid tolerance required an unusual cytoplasmically located urease that was activated 780-fold by low-pH conditions. Acid tolerance of Helicobacter species has also been attributed to urease activity, but in that case urease was not specifically activated by low-pH conditions. A ure mutant strain of Y. enterocolitica was constructed which was hypersensitive to acidic conditions when urea was available and, unlike the parental strain, was unable to grow when urea was the sole nitrogen source. Examination of other urease-producing gram-negative bacteria indicated that Morganella morganii survives in acidic conditions but Escherichia coli 1021, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis, Providencia stuartii, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa do not. Consistent with these results, biochemical evidence demonstrated that Y. enterocolitica and M. morganii ureases were activated in vitro by low pH with an unusually low activity optimum of pH 5.5. In whole cells activation occurred as medium values decreased below pH 3.0 for Y. enterocolitica and pH 5.5 for M. morganii, suggesting that in vivo activation occurs as a result of cytoplasmic acidification. DNA sequence analysis of portions of the M. morganii ure locus showed that the predicted primary structure of the enzyme structural subunits is most similar to those of Y. enterocolitica urease. One region of similarity between these two ureases located near the active site is distinct from most other ureases but is present in the urease of Lactobacillus fermentum. This region of similarity may be responsible for the unique properties of the Y. enterocolitica and M. morganii ureases since the L. fermentum urease also has been shown to have a low pH optimum for activity.     

Molecular cloning of Proteus morganii phenylalanine deaminase gene in Escherichia coli

The gene for phenylalanine deaminase (PAD) of Proteus morganii strain 2815 has been isolated on a 6.3-kb HindIII restriction fragment and cloned within RP4-prime plasmids, pYB2321 and pYB2322, in both orientations. Expression of the cloned gene in Escherichia coli strains was comparable to that in P. morganii 2815. The hybrid plasmids mobilized the 2815 chromosome with trajectories in reverse directions from an origin between ser-2 and ade-1, suggesting the map location of the PAD gene.     

Penicillin-binding proteins in Proteus species.

Penicillin-binding proteins in three species of Proteus, Proteus mirabilis, P. morganii, and P. rettgeri, were investigated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide slab gel electrophoresis. Penicillin-binding proteins in these Proteus species were compared with those in Escherichia coli K-12. An approximate correlation between penicillin-binding proteins in E. coli and those in Proteus species was shown by several criteria: electrophoretic mobilities; affinities of several beta-lactam antibiotics which show characteristic patterns of binding to penicillin-binding proteins in E. coli; relation between affinities of antibiotics to the proteins and effects on morphological changes in Proteus species; location of beta-lactamase activity among penicillin-binding proteins; and thermostability. The electrophoretic mobilities and several other characteristics of penicillin-binding proteins among the Proteus species examined were found to be similar from species to species and differed only slightly from those of E. coli.