Biomaterial Database

Nucleotide sequence of the afimbrial-adhesin-encoding afa-3 gene cluster and its translocation via flanking IS1 insertion sequences. 1994

M I Garcia, and A Labigne, and C Le Bouguenec

Unité des Entérobactéries, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale U389, Paris, France.

The afa gene clusters encode afimbrial adhesins (AFAs) that are expressed by uropathogenic and diarrhea-associated Escherichia coli strains. The plasmid-borne afa-3 gene cluster is responsible for the biosynthesis of the AFA-III adhesin that belongs to the Dr family of hemagglutinins. Reported in this work is the nucleotide sequence of the 9.2-kb insert of the recombinant plasmid pILL61, which contains the afa-3 gene cluster cloned from a cystitis-associated E. coli strain (A30). The afa-3 gene cluster was shown to contain six open reading frames, designated afaA to afaF. It was organized in two divergent transcriptional units. Five of the six Afa products showed marked homologies with proteins encoded by previously described adhesion systems that allowed us to attribute to each of them a putative function in the biogenesis of the AFA-III adhesin. AfaE was identified as the structural adhesin product, whereas AfaB and AfaC were recognized as periplasmic chaperone and outer membrane anchor proteins, respectively. The AfaA and AfaF products were shown to be homologous to the PapI-PapB transcriptional regulatory proteins. No function could be attributed to the AfaD product, the gene of which was previously shown to be dispensable for the synthesis of a functional adhesin. Upstream of the afa-3 gene cluster, a 1.2-kb region was found to be 96% identical to the RepFIB sequence of one of the enterotoxigenic E. coli plasmids (P307), suggesting a common ancestor plasmid. This region contains an integrase-like gene (int). Sequence analysis revealed the presence of an IS1 element between the int gene and the afa-3 gene cluster. Two other IS1 elements were detected and located in the vicinity of the afa-3 gene cluster by hybridization experiments. The afa-3 gene cluster was therefore found to be flanked by two IS1 elements in direct orientation and two in opposite orientations. The afa-3 gene cluster, flanked by two directly oriented IS1 elements, was shown to translocate from a recombinant plasmid to the E. coli chromosome. This translocation event occurred via IS1-specific recombination mediated by a recA-independent mechanism.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008969	Molecular Sequence Data	Descriptions of specific amino acid, carbohydrate, or nucleotide sequences which have appeared in the published literature and/or are deposited in and maintained by databanks such as GENBANK, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), National Biomedical Research Foundation (NBRF), or other sequence repositories.	Sequence Data, Molecular,Molecular Sequencing Data,Data, Molecular Sequence,Data, Molecular Sequencing,Sequencing Data, Molecular
D009876	Operon	In bacteria, a group of metabolically related genes, with a common promoter, whose transcription into a single polycistronic MESSENGER RNA is under the control of an OPERATOR REGION.	Operons
D010957	Plasmids	Extrachromosomal, usually CIRCULAR DNA molecules that are self-replicating and transferable from one organism to another. They are found in a variety of bacterial, archaeal, fungal, algal, and plant species. They are used in GENETIC ENGINEERING as CLONING VECTORS.	Episomes,Episome,Plasmid
D002874	Chromosome Mapping	Any method used for determining the location of and relative distances between genes on a chromosome.	Gene Mapping,Linkage Mapping,Genome Mapping,Chromosome Mappings,Gene Mappings,Genome Mappings,Linkage Mappings,Mapping, Chromosome,Mapping, Gene,Mapping, Genome,Mapping, Linkage,Mappings, Chromosome,Mappings, Gene,Mappings, Genome,Mappings, Linkage
D002876	Chromosomes, Bacterial	Structures within the nucleus of bacterial cells consisting of or containing DNA, which carry genetic information essential to the cell.	Bacterial Chromosome,Bacterial Chromosomes,Chromosome, Bacterial
D003001	Cloning, Molecular	The insertion of recombinant DNA molecules from prokaryotic and/or eukaryotic sources into a replicating vehicle, such as a plasmid or virus vector, and the introduction of the resultant hybrid molecules into recipient cells without altering the viability of those cells.	Molecular Cloning
D004251	DNA Transposable Elements	Discrete segments of DNA which can excise and reintegrate to another site in the genome. Most are inactive, i.e., have not been found to exist outside the integrated state. DNA transposable elements include bacterial IS (insertion sequence) elements, Tn elements, the maize controlling elements Ac and Ds, Drosophila P, gypsy, and pogo elements, the human Tigger elements and the Tc and mariner elements which are found throughout the animal kingdom.	DNA Insertion Elements,DNA Transposons,IS Elements,Insertion Sequence Elements,Tn Elements,Transposable Elements,Elements, Insertion Sequence,Sequence Elements, Insertion,DNA Insertion Element,DNA Transposable Element,DNA Transposon,Element, DNA Insertion,Element, DNA Transposable,Element, IS,Element, Insertion Sequence,Element, Tn,Element, Transposable,Elements, DNA Insertion,Elements, DNA Transposable,Elements, IS,Elements, Tn,Elements, Transposable,IS Element,Insertion Element, DNA,Insertion Elements, DNA,Insertion Sequence Element,Sequence Element, Insertion,Tn Element,Transposable Element,Transposable Element, DNA,Transposable Elements, DNA,Transposon, DNA,Transposons, DNA
D004926	Escherichia coli	A species of gram-negative, facultatively anaerobic, rod-shaped bacteria (GRAM-NEGATIVE FACULTATIVELY ANAEROBIC RODS) commonly found in the lower part of the intestine of warm-blooded animals. It is usually nonpathogenic, but some strains are known to produce DIARRHEA and pyogenic infections. Pathogenic strains (virotypes) are classified by their specific pathogenic mechanisms such as toxins (ENTEROTOXIGENIC ESCHERICHIA COLI), etc.	Alkalescens-Dispar Group,Bacillus coli,Bacterium coli,Bacterium coli commune,Diffusely Adherent Escherichia coli,E coli,EAggEC,Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli,Enterococcus coli,Diffusely Adherent E. coli,Enteroaggregative E. coli,Enteroinvasive E. coli,Enteroinvasive Escherichia coli
D005798	Genes, Bacterial	The functional hereditary units of BACTERIA.	Bacterial Gene,Bacterial Genes,Gene, Bacterial
D005810	Multigene Family	A set of genes descended by duplication and variation from some ancestral gene. Such genes may be clustered together on the same chromosome or dispersed on different chromosomes. Examples of multigene families include those that encode the hemoglobins, immunoglobulins, histocompatibility antigens, actins, tubulins, keratins, collagens, heat shock proteins, salivary glue proteins, chorion proteins, cuticle proteins, yolk proteins, and phaseolins, as well as histones, ribosomal RNA, and transfer RNA genes. The latter three are examples of reiterated genes, where hundreds of identical genes are present in a tandem array. (King & Stanfield, A Dictionary of Genetics, 4th ed)	Gene Clusters,Genes, Reiterated,Cluster, Gene,Clusters, Gene,Families, Multigene,Family, Multigene,Gene Cluster,Gene, Reiterated,Multigene Families,Reiterated Gene,Reiterated Genes