ABSTRACT
1. Outer-membrane protein patterns of Escherichia coli recovered from the peritoneal cavities of infected guinea pigs and grown in medium M9 containing 2,2'-dipyridyl were studied by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) to determine whether in vivo conditions of growth affected the expression of these bacterial surface proteins. 2. Eleven strains of septicemic E. coli studied in vitro under conditions of iron restriction expressed iron-regulated outer-membrane proteins, mainly the protein of approximately 74 kDa, whereas avirulent strains grown under similar conditions did not present the 74-kDa protein. 3. These results show the distribution of iron-regulated outer-membrane proteins among avian E. coli and suggest that the protein of approximately 74 kDa may be important for the virulence of these strains.
Subject(s)
Animals , Guinea Pigs , Escherichia coli , Iron , Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins/physiology , 2,2'-Dipyridyl , Chickens , Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel , Escherichia coliABSTRACT
Strain of avian septicemic E. coli were examined for association among the determinants of drug resistance, the genes for aerobactin production and virulence. In conjugation experiments, a single plasmid (100 Md) from a strain of septicemic E. coli (UEL 29) transferred to E. coli K12 pathogenicity for 1-day old chicks plus resistance to streptomycin and the ability to produce aerobactin and colicin. Additional evidence for the association of R-plasmid and the production of aerobactin, colicin, resistance to sulfadiazine and pathogenicity was obtained by disassociation when all traits were lost simultaneously. These data provide additional evidence for the importance of the aerobactin system for the pathogenicity of avian E. coli