Virulence-related O islands in enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7

Lingyan Jiang; Wen Yang; Xinlei Jiang; Ting Yao; Lu Wang; Bin Yang

doi:10.1080/19490976.2021.1992237

Virulence-related O islands in enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7

Gut Microbes. 2021 Jan-Dec;13(1):1992237. doi: 10.1080/19490976.2021.1992237.

Authors

Lingyan Jiang¹, Wen Yang¹, Xinlei Jiang², Ting Yao¹, Lu Wang¹, Bin Yang¹

Affiliations

¹ TEDA Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Nankai University, TEDA, Tianjin, P. R. China.
² School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Tianjin Chengjian University, Tianjin, P. R. China.

Abstract

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) O157:H7 is a principally foodborne pathogen linked to serious diseases, including bloody diarrhea, hemorrhagic colitis, and hemolytic uremic syndrome. Comparative genomics analysis revealed that EHEC O157 contains 177 unique genomic islands, termed O islands, compared with the nonpathogenic E. coli K-12 laboratory strain. These O islands contribute largely to the pathogenicity of EHEC O157:H7 by providing numerous virulence factors, effectors, virulence regulatory proteins, and virulence regulatory sRNAs. The present review aimed to provide a comprehensive understanding of the research progress on the function of O islands, especially focusing on virulence-related O islands.

Keywords: Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7; O island; adherence; genomic island; virulence.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Escherichia coli Infections / microbiology*
Escherichia coli O157 / genetics*
Escherichia coli O157 / metabolism
Escherichia coli O157 / pathogenicity*
Escherichia coli Proteins / genetics
Escherichia coli Proteins / metabolism
Genomic Islands*
Humans
Virulence
Virulence Factors / genetics
Virulence Factors / metabolism

Substances

Escherichia coli Proteins
Virulence Factors

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National Science Foundation of China (NSFC) Program [grant no. 31800125], the Natural Science Foundation of Tianjin [grant no. 20JCQNJC01970] and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, Nankai University [grant no. 980/63211149].