Escherichia coli strains expressing H12 antigens demonstrate an increased ability to attach to abiotic surfaces as compared with E. coli strains expressing H7 antigens

Abstract

The role of Escherichia coli H antigens in hydrophobicity and attachment to glass, Teflon and stainless steel (SS) surfaces was investigated through construction of fliC knockout mutants in E. coli O157:H7, O1:H7 and O157:H12. Loss of FliCH12 in E. coli O157:H12 decreased attachment to glass, Teflon and stainless steel surfaces (p<0.05). Complementing E. coli O157:H12 δfliCH12 with cloned wildtype (wt) fliCH12 restored attachment to wt levels. The loss of FliCH7 in E. coli O157:H7 and O1:H7 did not always alter attachment (p>0.05), but complementation with cloned fliCH12, as opposed to cloned fliCH7, significantly increased attachment for both strains compared with wt counterparts (p<0.05). ..