禽致病性大肠杆菌E058株毒力基因(aerobactin)与sit操纵子基因突变株的构建及其致病性

[目的]探究毒力基因aerobactin与sit操纵子与禽致病性大肠杆菌E058株致病作用的相关性.[方法]利用Red同源重组方法,构建APEC E058株aerobactin与sit操纵子基因缺失株E058Δvir,并通过一系列的体内及体外试验对其生物学特性进行研究.[结果]生长曲线测定、细菌侵袭试验及体外竞争等试验结果表明,突变株与亲本株差异不显著;体内动态分布试验结果显示,突变株E058Δvir在5个被检脏器中均极显著地低于亲本株(P＜0.001).[结论]aerobactin与sit操纵子与禽致病性大肠杆菌E058株的致病性相关,是其重要的致病因子.     

尿道致病性大肠杆菌HEC4株和禽源致病性大肠杆菌E058株毒力相关特性的比较

对人尿道致病性大肠杆菌(uropathogenic Escherichia coli,UPEC)HEC4株和禽致病性大肠杆菌(avian pathogen-ic Escherichia coli,APEC)E058株进行毒力基因和其他相关特性的比较,结果显示,它们具有一些共同的毒力基因,包括一些存在于APEC中一个大的可传递质粒上的基因;同时,它们也具有一些相似的生化特性。对SPF鸡的致病性试验显示,这两株分离株具有相似的致病力。因此,对于APEC和UPEC的相关性,以及APEC是否有可能导致人尿道感染或者成为UPEC的毒力基因贮主,有待进一步研究。     

禽病原性大肠杆菌aes-31基因突变株的构建和致病性鉴定

【目的】通过禽病原性大肠杆菌(APEC)aes-31突变株的构建和动物实验来初步鉴定此基因片段对E058株的毒力影响。【方法】对在芯片杂交试验中筛选到的APEC E058株体外表达差异基因片段aes-31(来自SSH方法筛选到的E058株特异片段),用SSH引物从重组质粒中扩增出目的片段,克隆到pGEM-Teasy Vector中,然后用SphⅠ和SpeⅠ从中切下此片段,将之克隆到pMEG-375自杀性载体中,构建自杀性重组质粒pMEG375-aes-31,将突变载体转化到受体菌中,再和APEC E058株进行固相杂交,根据同源重组原理,筛选出基因突变株E058(Δaes-31)。【结果】E058株和突变株的LD50没有明显差别,突变株对35日龄SPF鸡的致死率高于E058株;两者接种鸡6 h内,E058(Δaes-31)突变株在各内脏器官和血液中的细菌数和E058株差异均不显著;接种鸡24 h后,E058(Δaes-31)突变株在脾脏和肺中的细菌数显著大于E058株,差异显著,E058(Δaes-31)突变株在心脏、肝脏和血液中细菌数显著大于E058株,差异极显著;接种鸡48 h后,E058(Δaes-31)突变株在心脏、肝脏和脾脏中的细菌数比E058株多,差异极显著,而肺脏和血液中的细菌数均无明显差异;48 h后突变株所引起的感染鸡的大肠杆菌病变比亲本株稍严重。【结论】以上数据表明aes-31有可能与E058株毒力的负调控有关。     

抑制差减杂交筛选禽致病性大肠杆菌基因组差异片段及其分析

采用抑制差减杂交技术(Suppression subtractive hybridization,SSH)对禽致病性大肠杆菌E037株(血清型O78)与非致病菌株K-12MG1655以及同一O2血清型高致病菌株E058与低致病菌株E526进行基因组差异片段克隆与分析。从E037株中共检出17个特异性差异片段,E058株中共检出32个特异性差异片段。经同源分析,这些序列可分为4类:质粒相关序列、噬菌体相关序列、已知功能序列、未知功能序列。这些差异片段包含许多重要的大肠杆菌毒力相关基因,如大肠杆菌素、气杆菌素受体、铁基因簇等。49个片段中,14个片段与其它微生物基因组同源性较高。结果表明,大肠杆菌高致病株与低致病菌株或非致病菌株基因组间存在较多差异基因,其中包括毒力、毒力相关基因、代谢以及噬菌体等基因成分。     

禽致病性大肠杆菌IMT5155 疑似毒力基因在人源及动物源大肠杆菌中的分布

[目的]检测禽致病性大肠杆菌IMT5155自分泌黏附素基因等具有代表性的疑似毒力基因在不同来源大肠杆菌中的分布,为进一步研究其致病机理提供依据.[方法]采用PCR和Dot blot,检测疑似毒力基因在不同地区(101株大肠杆菌中国分离株和121株大肠杆菌德国分离株)、不同来源(人源、禽源及猪源)大肠杆菌中的分布,并分析其和大肠杆菌系统进化分群的关系.[结果]自分泌黏附素基因B11等11个疑似毒力基因在禽致病性大肠杆菌中分布率较高,阳性率分别为:A1 36.4%(32/88)、A8 53.4%(47/88)、A1063.6%(56/88)、B1137.5%(33/88)、F3 59.1%(52/88)等,且疑似毒力基因主要存在于大肠杆菌B2进化群中.值得注意的是,D1、E9和F11基因片段在新生儿脑膜炎大肠杆菌中有较高的分布率,分别为60%(6/10)、80%(8/10)和90%(9/10),而在新生儿脑膜炎大肠杆菌中未检测到B11基因.[结论]自分泌黏附素B11等疑似毒力基因与禽致病性大肠杆菌关系密切,但疑似毒力基因D1、E9和F11与新生儿脑膜炎大肠杆菌密切相关,提示禽致病性大肠杆菌可能是新生儿脑膜炎大肠杆菌的毒力基因储库.     

禽致病性大肠杆菌gspL基因缺失株构建及生物学特性

【目的】研究gsp L基因缺失对禽致病性大肠杆菌(Avian pathogenic Escherichia coli,APEC)生物学特性的影响。【方法】利用Red重组方法构建禽致病性大肠杆菌DE17株的gsp L缺失株;分析野生株与缺失株的生长特性、黏附和入侵DF1细胞的差异;采用荧光定量PCR的方法比较野生株和缺失株毒力基因转录水平的变化;比较野生株与缺失株的半数致死量(LD50)差异。【结果】gsp L缺失不影响DE17的生长特性,但其黏附和入侵DF1细胞能力显著下调。荧光定量PCR检测结果表明,缺失株毒力基因lux S,pfs,fyu A和iss转录水平明显上调,tsh的转录水平明显下调,而vat,ibe A,stx2f和omp A的转录水平无显著变化;LD50检测结果表明,缺失株比野生株毒力增强了12倍。【结论】gsp L基因的缺失不影响禽致病性大肠杆菌的生长特性,但能减弱其黏附和入侵能力,且可以正调控禽致病性大肠杆菌部分毒力基因的转录水平,推测gsp L基因可能与APEC对宿主的致病性有关。     

禽致病性大肠杆菌毒力基因多重PCR方法的建立和应用

【目的】建立禽致病性大肠杆菌(Avian pathogenic Escherichia coli,APEC)黏附相关基因、侵袭及毒素相关基因、抗血清存活相关基因及铁转运相关基因的多重PCR方法,实现禽致病性大肠杆菌毒力基因的简便、快速检测。【方法】根据GenBank公布的基因序列,设计合成18对特异性引物,通过条件优化,建立四组多重PCR体系,并通过模板倍比稀释检测各组多重PCR的灵敏性。利用多重PCR检测100株APEC毒力基因的分布,验证多重PCR方法的可行性。【结果】根据PCR扩增片段大小判定,上述四组多重PCR体系均能同时扩增出该组中的各个毒力基因,且灵敏度分别为:103CFU、103CFU、105CFU、105CFU细菌和1ng、1ng、10ng、10ng DNA。100株APEC的毒力因子检测结果显示,多重PCR和单基因PCR结果一致。【结论】建立的四组多重PCR方法能够简便、快速地检测禽致病性大肠杆菌的毒力基因,可用于毒力基因的鉴定以及流行病学调查。     

kpsE和kpsD双基因缺失显著降低肠道外致病性大肠杆菌的毒力

【目的】探究荚膜对肠道外致病性大肠杆菌致病作用的影响。【方法】选取负责荚膜多糖转运的基因kpsE和kpsD,利用λRed重组系统构建APEC E058和UPEC U17荚膜缺失株E058ΔkpsED和U17ΔkpsED,并通过一系列的体内及体外试验对其生物学特性及致病性进行研究。【结果】双基因缺失株的生长速度较野生株没有明显差异,但缺失株抗血清补体杀菌能力和抗鸡巨噬细胞HD-11细胞吞噬能力显著下降。1日龄雏鸡LD50致病性试验结果显示,缺失株E058ΔkpsED和U17ΔkpsED对鸡失去致病力,而回复株毒力恢复至野生株水平;35日龄SPF鸡体内动态分布和竞争试验显示ΔkpsED缺失株在鸡体内定殖能力和竞争性生长能力显著下降,表明kpsED双基因的缺失能显著降低APEC E058和UPEC U17的致病力。【结论】荚膜与肠道外致病性大肠杆菌的致病性相关,是其重要的毒力因子。     

大肠杆菌三型分泌系统2转录调节子EtrA对禽致病性大肠杆菌致病性的影响

【背景】禽致病性大肠杆菌(avian pathogenic Escherichia coli,APEC)是禽类主要病原菌之一,大肠杆菌三型分泌系统2 (Escherichia coli type III secretion system 2,ETT2)可通过转录调节子调控其致病性,但在APEC中转录调节子EtrA对其致病性的影响目前尚不清楚。【目的】研究ETT2中转录调节子EtrA对APEC致病性的影响。【方法】利用Red同源重组技术构建ETT2-etrA基因缺失株及回复株。比较生长性能、生物被膜形成、运动性及对血清敏感性的差异,基于RNA-Seq测序及Real-timePCR技术比较野生株和缺失株中与生物被膜形成、运动性以及毒力因子相关基因的转录水平。【结果】与野生株相比,缺失株及回复株生长特性无显著变化(P0.05),但APEC40-ΔetrA生物被膜形成能力和对血清敏感性明显增强(P0.001),运动性较野生株明显下降(P0.01),回复株的表型有所回复。转录组学筛选出7个毒力差异基因,生物被膜形成相关基因显著上调,参与影响细菌运动性的基因显著下调。qRT-PCR验证与转录组学结果一致。【结论】etrA缺失可以显著影响APEC的生物被膜形成、运动性及对血清的敏感性,这可为进一步探讨ETT2对APEC的致病作用提供参考。     

禽致病性大肠杆菌江苏、安徽分离株的生物学特性分析

[目的]研究禽致病性大肠杆菌(Avian Pathogenic Escherichia coli,APEC)江苏、安徽分离株的优势血清型,并分析其生物学特性.[方法]对分离自病禽的细菌进行鉴定,采用玻片凝集法测定禽致病性大肠杆菌的血清型,PCR方法检测14种毒力基因的分布,采用美国临床和实验室标准化研究所的方法进行药物敏感性检测,改良结晶紫半定量法检测分离细菌的生物被膜形成能力. [结果]共分离到禽致病性大肠杆菌56株,血清型检测结果表明,O78血清型占64.29％,为主要血清型.毒力基因检测显示,fimC、pfs、ompA和luxS的阳性率超过90％.药物敏感性检测显示,58.93％的菌株对8种以上的药物耐受.生物被膜检测显示,有16株细菌生物被膜形成能力为中等以上,其中68.75％的菌株耐8种以上的药物.[结论]O78为主要流行的血清型.fimC、pfs、ompA和luxS基因为APEC保守基因.多重耐药性仍很普遍,细菌生物被膜与耐药性具有相关性.     

Roles of iron acquisition systems in virulence of extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli: salmochelin and aerobactin contribute more to virulence than heme in a chicken infection model

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) and uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) are the two main subsets of extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC). Both types have multiple iron acquisition systems, including heme and siderophores. Although iron transport systems involved in the pathogenesis of APEC or UPEC have been documented individually in corresponding animal models, the contribution of these systems during simultaneous APEC and UPEC infection is not well described. To determine the contribution of each individual iron acquisition system to the virulence of APEC and UPEC, isogenic mutants affecting iron uptake in APEC E058 and UPEC U17 were constructed and compared in a chicken challenge model. RESULTS: Salmochelin-defective mutants E058DeltairoD and U17DeltairoD showed significantly decreased pathogenicity compared to the wild-type strains. Aerobactin defective mutants E058DeltaiucD and U17DeltaiucD demonstrated reduced colonization in several internal organs, whereas the heme defective mutants E058DeltachuT and U17DeltachuT colonized internal organs to the same extent as their wild-type strains. The triple mutant DeltachuTDeltairoDDeltaiucD in both E058 and U17 showed decreased pathogenicity compared to each of the single mutants. The histopathological lesions in visceral organs of birds challenged with the wild-type strains were more severe than those from birds challenged with DeltairoD, DeltaiucD or the triple mutants. Conversely, chickens inoculated with the DeltachuT mutants had lesions comparable to those in chickens inoculated with the wild-type strains. However, no significant differences were observed between the mutants and the wild-type strains in resistance to serum, cellular invasion and intracellular survival in HD-11, and growth in iron-rich or iron-restricted medium. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicated that APEC and UPEC utilize similar iron acquisition mechanisms in chickens. Both salmochelin and aerobactin systems appeared to be important in APEC and UPEC virulence, while salmochelin contributed more to the virulence. Heme bounded by ChuT in the periplasm appeared to be redundant in this model, indicating that other periplasmic binding proteins likely contributed to the observed no phenotype for the heme uptake mutant. No differences were observed between the mutants and their wild-type parents in other phenotypic traits, suggesting that other virulence mechanisms compensate for the effect of the mutations.     

DNA sequence of a ColV plasmid and prevalence of selected plasmid-encoded virulence genes among avian Escherichia coli strains

ColV plasmids have long been associated with the virulence of Escherichia coli, despite the fact that their namesake trait, ColV production, does not appear to contribute to virulence. Such plasmids or their associated sequences appear to be quite common among avian pathogenic E. coli (APEC) and are strongly linked to the virulence of these organisms. In the present study, a 180-kb ColV plasmid was sequenced and analyzed. This plasmid, pAPEC-O2-ColV, possesses a 93-kb region containing several putative virulence traits, including iss, tsh, and four putative iron acquisition and transport systems. The iron acquisition and transport systems include those encoding aerobactin and salmochelin, the sit ABC iron transport system, and a putative iron transport system novel to APEC, eit. In order to determine the prevalence of the virulence-associated genes within this region among avian E. coli strains, 595 APEC and 199 avian commensal E. coli isolates were examined for genes of this region using PCR. Results indicate that genes contained within a portion of this putative virulence region are highly conserved among APEC and that the genes of this region occur significantly more often in APEC than in avian commensal E. coli. The region of pAPEC-O2-ColV containing genes that are highly prevalent among APEC appears to be a distinguishing trait of APEC strains.     

毒力基因yqeH功能分析及对禽致病性大肠杆菌致病性的影响

【背景】禽致病性大肠杆菌(avian pathogenic Escherichia coli,APEC)可引起禽类急性或亚急性感染,在近年新发现的大肠杆菌Ⅲ型分泌系统2 (Escherichia coli type III secretion system 2,ETT2)中,毒力基因yqeH对其致病性的影响尚不明确。【目的】探究yqeH在APEC致病过程中的作用,为后期深入研究ETT2致病机制奠定基础。【方法】利用Red同源重组技术构建yqeH缺失株ΔyqeH及其回复株CΔyqeH,通过运动性、生物被膜形成能力、抗逆性、抗血清杀菌能力等试验分析yqeH对APEC生物学功能的影响,并通过细胞黏附、侵袭试验、致病力测定及荧光定量PCR检测细胞炎性因子转录水平,探究yqeH对APEC感染宿主的影响。【结果】构建了缺失株ΔyqeH和回复株CΔyqeH;生物学特性试验结果表明,与野生株APEC81相比,缺失株ΔyqeH生物被膜形成能力、运动能力降低,对酸、碱、渗透压、氧化休克的耐受力降低,抗血清杀菌能力及致病力显著降低;与野生株APEC81相比,缺失株ΔyqeH对鸡气管黏膜上皮细胞的黏附及侵袭能...     

Aerobactin Synthesis Genes iucA and iucC Contribute to the Pathogenicity of Avian Pathogenic Escherichia coli O2 Strain E058

Aerobactin genes are known to be present in virulent strains and absent from avirulent strains, but contributions of iucC and iucA, which are involved in aerobactin synthesis, to the pathogenicity of avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) have not been clarified. In this study, effects of double mutants (iucA/iutA or iucC/iutA) compared to those of single mutants (iucA, iucC or iutA) of aerobactin genes on the virulence of APEC strain E058 were examined both in vitro (aerobactin production, ingestion into HD-11 cells, survival in chicken serum) and in vivo (competitive growth against parental strain, colonization and persistence). In competitive co-infection assays, compared to the E058 parental strain, the E058ΔiucA mutant was significantly reduced in the liver, kidney, spleen (all P<0.01), heart and lung (both P<0.001). The E058ΔiutA mutant also was significantly reduced in the liver, lung, kidney (all P<0.01), heart and spleen (both P<0.001). The E058ΔiucC mutant was significantly attenuated in the heart and kidney (both P<0.05) and showed a remarkable reduction in the liver, spleen and lung (P<0.01); meanwhile, both E058ΔiucAΔiutA and E058ΔiucCΔiutA double mutants were sharply reduced as well (P<0.001). In colonization and persistence assays, compared with E058, recovered colonies of E058ΔiucA were significantly reduced from the lung, liver, spleen and kidney (P<0.01) and significantly reduced in the heart (P<0.001). E058ΔiutA was significantly reduced from the heart, lung, liver, spleen and kidney (P<0.01). E058ΔiucC, E058ΔiucAΔiutA and E058ΔiucCΔiutA were significantly decreased in all organs tested (P<0.001). These results suggest that iutA, iucA and iucC play important roles in the pathogenicity of APEC E058.     

A Longitudinal Study Simultaneously Exploring the Carriage of APEC Virulence Associated Genes and the Molecular Epidemiology of Faecal and Systemic E. coli in Commercial Broiler Chickens

Colibacillosis is an economically important syndromic disease of poultry caused by extra-intestinal avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) but the pathotype remains poorly defined. Combinations of virulence-associated genes (VAGs) have aided APEC identification. The intestinal microbiota is a potential APEC reservoir. Broiler chickens are selectively bred for fast, uniform growth. Here we simultaneously investigate intestinal E. coli VAG carriage in apparently healthy birds and characterise systemic E. coli from diseased broiler chickens from the same flocks. Four flocks were sampled longitudinally from chick placement until slaughter. Phylogrouping, macro-restriction pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) were performed on an isolate subset from one flock to investigate the population structure of faecal and systemic E. coli. Early in production, VAG carriage among chick intestinal E. coli populations was diverse (average Simpson''s D value  = 0.73); 24.05% of intestinal E. coli (n = 160) from 1 day old chicks were carrying ≥5 VAGs. Generalised Linear models demonstrated VAG prevalence in potential APEC populations declined with age; 1% of E. coli carrying ≥5 VAGs at slaughter and demonstrated high strain diversity. A variety of VAG profiles and high strain diversity were observed among systemic E. coli. Thirty three new MLST sequence types were identified among 50 isolates and a new sequence type representing 22.2% (ST-2999) of the systemic population was found, differing from the pre-defined pathogenic ST-117 at a single locus. For the first time, this study takes a longitudinal approach to unravelling the APEC paradigm. Our findings, supported by other studies, highlight the difficulty in defining the APEC pathotype. Here we report a high genetic diversity among systemic E. coli between and within diseased broilers, harbouring diverse VAG profiles rather than single and/or highly related pathogenic clones suggesting host susceptibility in broilers plays an important role in APEC pathogenesis.     

Zoonotic Potential of Escherichia coli Isolates from Retail Chicken Meat Products and Eggs

Chicken products are suspected as a source of extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (ExPEC), which causes diseases in humans. The zoonotic risk to humans from chicken-source E. coli is not fully elucidated. To clarify the zoonotic risk posed by ExPEC in chicken products and to fill existing knowledge gaps regarding ExPEC zoonosis, we evaluated the prevalence of ExPEC on shell eggs and compared virulence-associated phenotypes between ExPEC and non-ExPEC isolates from both chicken meat and eggs. The prevalence of ExPEC among egg-source isolates was low, i.e., 5/108 (4.7%). Based on combined genotypic and phenotypic screening results, multiple human and avian pathotypes were represented among the chicken-source ExPEC isolates, including avian-pathogenic E. coli (APEC), uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC), neonatal meningitis E. coli (NMEC), and sepsis-associated E. coli (SEPEC), as well as an undefined ExPEC group, which included isolates with fewer virulence factors than the APEC, UPEC, and NMEC isolates. These findings document a substantial prevalence of human-pathogenic ExPEC-associated genes and phenotypes among E. coli isolates from retail chicken products and identify key virulence traits that could be used for screening.     

选择性捕获禽病原性大肠杆菌体内转录序列

采用选择性捕获转录序列(SCOTS)方法鉴定禽病原性大肠杆菌E037株(血清型O78)在感染SPF鸡过程中的转录表达基因。通过总RNA分离、cDNAs合成、PCR扩增和SCOTS对cDNAs选择和致病性特异转录序列的富集,致病性特异的cDNAs被分离鉴定,共获得31个转录序列(命名为aec),其中分别有2、1、4、14、2和8个aec序列与黏附素、LPS的合成、铁的摄取系统、质粒编码基因、噬菌体编码基因和一些其它功能基因相关;从气囊中分离到16个aec序列,心包膜中分离到15个aec序列;有3种与质粒编码基因相关序列在气囊和心包膜中都被分离到。结果显示APEC致病性特异序列包括黏附素、LPS的合成、铁的转运、质粒编码基因、噬菌体编码基因和一些其它功能基因等。通过SCOTS方法建立了一种体内表达致病性特异基因的方法和APEC在自然宿主感染模型中致病性相关基因的表达谱的筛选方法。