Sequence analysis of Enterococcus faecalis aggregation substance encoded by the sex pheromone plasmid pAD1

Galli, Dominique M.; Lottspeich, Friedrich; Wirth, Reinhard

doi:10.1111/j.1365-2958.1990.tb00662.x

Cited by 163 publications

(122 citation statements)

References 33 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

120

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…By using the 3D-PSSM-fold recognition server (Kelley et al, 2000), we initially found 14 enterococcal CWA proteins with predicted Ig-like folds among the panel of 29 putative CWA proteins identified by us. Four of these are highly conserved aggregation substance (Galli et al, 1990(Galli et al, , 1992 homologues (77 % overall identity in multiple alignment) and one shows significant similarity (31 % identity over 1457 aa) to the biofilm-associated protein (Bap) of S. aureus (Cucarella et al, 2001). As we were focusing on novel and uncharacterized CWA proteins with MSCRAMM-like structural features, we chose the remaining nine proteins (EF0089, EF1091, EF1092, EF1093, EF1099, EF1269, EF1824, EF2224 and EF3023; TIGR annotation locus names have been used throughout this study) for further investigation (Fig.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A family of putative MSCRAMMs from Enterococcus faecalis

et al. 2004

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The recently published Enterococcus faecalis genome [Paulsen, I. T., Banerjei, L., Myers, G. S. & 29 other authors (2003). Science 299, 2071–2074)] was examined and 41 putative cell-wall-anchored proteins were identified. Seventeen of these proteins are predicted to contain tandemly repeated immunoglobulin-like folds characteristic of the structural organization of staphylococcal adhesins of the MSCRAMM (microbial surface component recognizing adhesive matrix molecules) type. Two of the nine proteins selected for further study appear to represent cell-wall-anchored enzymes. It is proposed that the remaining seven proteins constitute a family of structurally related proteins potentially interacting with proteins of the host. This family includes the previously identified collagen/laminin-binding MSCRAMM ACE [Rich, R. L., Kreikemeyer, B., Owens, R. T., LaBrenz, S., Narayana, S. V., Weinstock, G. M., Murray, B. E. & Hook, M. (1999). J Biol Chem 274, 26939–26945]. It is further demonstrated that genes encoding the seven putative MSCRAMMs are present in all E. faecalis strains tested and these proteins appear to be expressed during infection in humans, since sera from infected individuals contain antibodies reacting with recombinant versions of the enterococcal proteins.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A family of putative MSCRAMMs from Enterococcus faecalis

et al. 2004

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…asal (coding for ASAl = aggregation substance of pAD1) was the first gene of a sex pheromone plasmid to be sequenced (Galli et al, 1990). When the sequence for the homologous gene from pCFlO was established (Kao et al, 1991) it became clear that the genes are highly conserved.…”

Section: Sequence Of the Plasmid Encoded Adhesinsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The sex pheromone system of Enterococcus faecalis

Wirth¹

1994

European Journal of Biochemistry

120

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The sex pheromone system of Enterococcus faecalis was discovered by observing a clumping reaction of E. faecalis strains during conjugative transfer of plasmids. It was found that only a special type of E. faecalis plasmids, the so-called sex pheromone plasmids, are transferred via this mechanism. Various experiments, especially by the group of D. B. Clewell, led to the formulation of a model describing how the sex pheromone system works. Small linear peptides, the so-called sex pheromones, are excreted by strains not possessing the corresponding sex pheromone plasmid. Donor strains harboring the plasmid do not produce the corresponding sex pheromone; they react to the presence of the peptide by production of a plasmid-encoded adhesin, the so-called aggregation substance. This adhesin allows contact between the non-motile mating partners ; after conjugative transfer of the plasmid, the former recipient possesses and replicates the new plasmid. Thereby the population of E. faecalis strains is shifted to a high percentage of donor strains. This is especially true because a donor strain will still excrete sex pheromones corresponding to plasmids it does not harbor; therefore, such a strain can also function as recipient for other sex pheromone plasmids it does not possess.Various aspects of this unique plasmid collection mechanism have been studied during the last few years. The data indicate that, with the exception of pAM373, all sex pheromone plasmids possess one DNA region which is highly similar to and codes for the adhesin. It is also becoming more and more clear that regulatory functions/proteins are not conserved between different sex pheromone plasmids. Induction of adhesin synthesis needs the action of a regulatory cascade composed of unique features; at the moment we are just beginning to understand this cascade. By sequencing the first structural gene for one of those adhesins, we realized that the aggregation substance might act also as an adhesin for eucaryotic cells, probably by interaction with integrins. At least in the case of the in vitro cultured pig kidney tubulus cell line LLC-PK, this idea could be verified. An interesting aspect of the sex pheromone system of E. faecalis is its evolution. I will discuss the idea that two different components, both of which well might contribute to virulence of the opportunistic pathogenic bacterium, were combined in the species E. faecalis to result in this unique plasmid collection system.Enterococcus faecalis belongs to the bacterial genus Enterococcus which at the moment contains more than 15 valid species. The genus was established in 1984 when 'Streptococcus faecalis' and 'Streptococcus faecium' were transferred from the taxionomically unclearly defined group 'Streptococcus' in the new genus (Schleifer and Kilpper-Balz, 1984). Because of this some of the older literature cited in Abbreviations. ASA1, ASA373, ASCIO and ASPl, aggregation substance encoded by sex pheromone plasmids pAD1, pAM373, pCFlO and pPD1, respectively; ORFX, gene product of ogx (or€ ...

show abstract

“…Two different forms of Agg have been described: Asa1 and Asa373 (De Boever et al, 2000;Galli et al, 1990). Previously, we reported that E. faecalis expressing Agg adheres in significantly higher numbers to biomaterials compared with isogenic strains without Agg.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Atomic force microscopy study on specificity and non-specificity of interaction forces between Enterococcus faecalis cells with and without aggregation substance

et al. 2005

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Enterococcus faecalis is one of the leading causes of hospital-acquired infections, and indwelling medical devices are especially prone to infection. E. faecalis expressing aggregation substance (Agg) adheres to biomaterial surfaces by means of positive cooperativity, i.e. the ability of one adhering organism to stimulate adhesion of other organisms in its immediate vicinity. In this study, atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to measure the specificity and non-specificity of interaction forces between E. faecalis cells with and without Agg. Bacteria were attached to a substratum surface and a tip-less cantilever. Two E. faecalis strains expressing different forms of Agg showed nearly twofold higher interaction forces between bacterial cells than a strain lacking Agg [adhesive force (F adh ), "1?3 nN]. The strong interaction forces between the strains with Agg were reduced after adsorption of antibodies against Agg from "2?6 and "2?3 nN to "1?2 and "1?3 nN, respectively. This suggests that the non-specific interaction force between the enterococci amounts to approximately 1?2 nN, while the specific force component is only twofold stronger. Comparison of the results of the AFM interaction forces with the positive cooperativity after adhesion to a biomaterial in a parallel-plate flow chamber showed that in the absence of strong interaction forces between the cells, positive cooperativity was also absent. In conclusion, this is believed to be the first time that the influence of specific antibodies on interaction forces between E. faecalis cells has been demonstrated by AFM, thereby experimentally distinguishing between specific and non-specific force components.

show abstract

Sequence analysis of Enterococcus faecalis aggregation substance encoded by the sex pheromone plasmid pAD1

Cited by 163 publications

References 33 publications

A family of putative MSCRAMMs from Enterococcus faecalis

A family of putative MSCRAMMs from Enterococcus faecalis

The sex pheromone system of Enterococcus faecalis

Atomic force microscopy study on specificity and non-specificity of interaction forces between Enterococcus faecalis cells with and without aggregation substance

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About