Pathogenomics of the Virulence Plasmids ofEscherichia coli

Abstract

SUMMARY Bacterial plasmids are self-replicating, extrachromosomal elements that are key agents of change in microbial populations. They promote the dissemination of a variety of traits, including virulence, enhanced fitness, resistance to antimicrobial agents, and metabolism of rare substances. Escherichia coli, perhaps the most studied of microorganisms, has been found to possess a variety of plasmid types. Included among these are plasmids associated with virulence. Several types of E. coli virulence plasmids exist, including those essential for the virulence of enterotoxigenic E. coli, enteroinvasive E. coli, enteropathogenic E. coli, enterohemorrhagic E. coli, enteroaggregative E. coli, and extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli. Despite their diversity, these plasmids belong to a few plasmid backbones that present themselves in a conserved and syntenic manner. Thanks to some recent research, including sequence analysis of several representative plasmid genomes and molecular pathogenesis studies, the evolution of these virulence plasmids and the implications of their acquisition by E. coli are now better understood and appreciated. Here, work involving each of the E. coli virulence plasmid types is summarized, with the available plasmid genomic sequences for several E. coli pathotypes being compared in an effort to understand the evolution of these plasmid types and define their core and accessory components.

Modeling gene associations for virulence classification of verocytotoxin-producing E. coli (VTEC) from patients and beef

“…7 Other PAIs and plasmids include OI-122, OI-57, pO157 and pO113, [8][9][10] the virulence contributions of which have still to be clarified. VTEC virulence depends on the interplay of many factors, both genetic and environmental.…”

Interplay between pathogenicity island carriage, resistance profile and plasmid acquisition in uropathogenic Escherichia coli

“…It has been suggested that some plasmids, containing the FIB replicon, may be carriers of PAIs (Johnson & Nolan, 2009). Additionally, PAI IV 536 , also known as the high pathogenicity island (HPI), may be transferred by a conjugative F plasmid (Schubert et al, 2009), and PAI II 536 has also been shown to be transferred by conjugation (Schneider et al, 2011).…”

Genomic characterization of asymptomatic Escherichia coli isolated from the neobladder

“…SL476 pSL476_91 plasmid. Each of these plasmids are common mobile plasmids in the enteric pathogens (Johnson & Nolan, 2009) and further represent the horizontal gene transfer of these isolates and their similarity to the E. coli from the gastrointestinal tract.…”