Contribution of Long Polar Fimbriae to the Virulence of Rabbit-Specific Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli

Abstract

Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) is a major of cause of diarrhea among children in developing countries. Although EPEC is a human specific pathogen, some related strains are natural pathogens of animals, including laboratory-bred rabbits. We have identified two chromosomal loci in rabbit-specific EPEC (REPEC) O15:H- strain 83/39, which are predicted to encode long polar fimbriae (LPF). lpfR154 was identical to a fimbrial gene cluster, lpfO113, identified previously in enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) O113:H21. The second locus, lpfR141, comprised a novel sequence with five predicted open reading frames, lpfA to lpfE, that encoded long fine fimbriae in nonfimbriated E. coli ORN103. Th..