禽病原性大肠杆菌tsh突变株的构建及分离株tsh基因的检测

运用基因重组方法将庆大霉素（Gentamycin,GM）抗性基因连接到PCR扩增的tsh两端区域产生的2个目的基因片段之间,并共同插入到pUC18载体的多克隆位点中,构建出带GM标志的载体pUC18-tshFRGM,从中切下此tshF-GM-tshR片段,再将之克隆到pMEG-375自杀性载体中,构建出自杀性载体pMEG375-tshFRGM,将突变载体转化到含tsh基因的受体APEC E037株中,根据同源重组原理,筛选出tsh基因缺失的E037突变株,命名为E037（Δtsh）。E037和E037（Δtsh）株对1日龄鸡的LD50分别为105.6CFU和109.0CFU,动物感染性试验表明E037（Δtsh）株在内脏器官和血液中的感染能力和大肠杆菌病变程度均有明显下降。在243株禽源分离株中,有167株为tsh＋菌株,其中高致病株、中等致病株和低致病株分别为87.4%（146/167）、12.6%（21/167）和0%（0/167）;O1、O2和O78血清型的高致病株占所在血清型分离株的89.5%-100%,而其它血清型的高致病株仅占其它分离株的53.3%,差异极显著（P〈0.01）。结果显示tsh＋株大多数为高致病性菌株,且其致病性与血清型的种类有一定的相关性,温度敏感性血凝素为APEC重要的致病因子。     

禽源大肠杆菌的生物表型特性

对243株禽源大肠杆菌分离株进行血清耐受试验、菌毛化大肠杆菌血凝试验和温度敏感性血凝素试验.在这些分离株中,高度血清耐受、中等血清耐受、轻度血清耐受和血清敏感菌株分别占受试菌株的57.2%(139/243)、28.8%(70/243)、10.3%(25/243)和3.7%(9/243).在37℃细菌培养物与鸡红细胞凝集试验中,甘露糖敏感血凝(MSHA)和甘露糖耐受血凝(MRHA)菌株分别占受试菌株的64.6%(157/243)和5.8%(14/243);与豚鼠红细胞凝集试验中,MSHA和MRHA菌株分别占受试菌株的74.9%(182/243)和2.9%(7/243),其中与鸡红细胞凝集试验MSHA菌株中,MSHA阳性菌株占高致病株的69.5%(132/190),MRHA阳性菌株占低致病株的22.2%(2/9),两者差异极显著(p<0.01).在温度敏感性血凝素试验中,MRHA菌株为112株,占分离株的46.1%,其中O1、O2和O78血清型的高致病株占所在血清型分离株的83%～100%,而其它血清型的高致病株仅占57%左右,差异显著(p<0.05).结果显示禽源大肠杆菌的致病性与其血清耐受能力、鸡红细胞MSHA菌毛的表达和温度敏感性血凝素的表达呈一定的相关关系.     

嘉兴地区禽病原性大肠杆菌的分离鉴定

2005年,笔者从嘉兴地区临诊有典型大肠杆菌病病变的病、死鸡中分离到60株大肠杆菌,除9株未能定型、1株自凝外,鉴定出50个分离株的血清型,这些分离株覆盖了12个血清型(以O78为最主要血清型)。对其中28株禽源性大肠杆菌进行致病性试验,有85.7%(24/28)为高致病株,10.7%(3/28)为中等致病株和3.6%(1/28)为低致病株。同时测定28个分离株对20种药物的敏感性。结果表明:壮观霉素、阿米卡星的抑菌作用最强,高敏菌株占71.4%~85.7%;痢特灵、庆大霉素、多粘菌素、卡那霉素、环丙沙星为中敏,高敏菌株为28.6%~64.3%;氧氟沙星、新霉素、甲基氟哌酸、依诺沙星、复方新诺明、磺胺甲基异垩唑、羧苄青霉素、青霉素、诺氟沙星、罗美沙星、强力霉素、四环素的抑菌作用较低,高敏菌株低于20%。     

禽源性大肠杆菌对14种抗生素的敏感性

禽大肠杆菌病是指部分或全部由禽源性大肠杆菌所引起的局部或全身性感染的疾病,包括大肠杆菌性败血症、大肠杆菌肉芽肿、气囊病（慢性呼吸道病）、禽蜂窝组织炎、肿头综合征、腹膜炎、输卵管炎、滑膜炎、全眼球炎、脐炎/卵黄囊感染。随着养禽业的集约化、产业化的不断发展,药物使用越来越多,分离细菌对抗生素的耐药性也表现得越来越强,给养殖业带来巨大的损失。     

我国部分地区105个禽病原性大肠杆菌的药敏试验

测定了来自国内部分地区１０５个禽病原性大肠杆菌分离株对１３种药物的敏感性。结果表明,丁胺卡那霉素、环丙沙星、氟哌酸的抑菌作用最强,高敏菌株占７７％以上,痢特灵、庆大霉素、卡那霉素、恩诺沙星、氯霉素敏感性居中,高敏菌株为４９％￣６５％之间;增效磺胺、痢菌净、氨苄青霉素、强力霉素、青霉素的抑菌作用最弱,高敏菌株低于２０％。     

禽致病性大肠杆菌唾液酸酶siaK1基因缺失株的构建及其生物学特性分析

禽致病性大肠杆菌(avian pathogenic Escherichia coli,APEC)是危害养禽业发展的重要病原之一。本试验利用Red同源重组技术构建APEC IMT5155唾液酸酶基因sia K1缺失株和互补株,系统比较其生物学特性的差异。生长曲线测定表明,缺失株比野生株和互补株生长速度加快,而野生株和互补株的生长速度无明显差异;生物被膜形成能力测定表明,sia K1缺失导致细菌生物被膜形成能力显著减弱,而互补株可恢复至野生株水平,说明sia K1基因缺失可影响禽致病性大肠杆菌的生长速度及生物被膜的形成。本研究为进一步探讨sia K1基因功能奠定了基础。     

单抗对禽病原性大肠杆菌菌毛粘附抑制的研究

应用８株鸡病原性大肠杆菌研究了菌毛作为分型抗原和共粘附特性,以抗Ⅰ型菌毛单克隆抗体（单抗）ｂＧ５和甘露糖进行了抑制作用试验。在血凝试验中、单抗和甘露糖都能抑制血凝反应,说明这些株都属于Ⅰ型,通过以单抗或甘露糖的粘附抑制程序这些Ｅｃｏｌｉ株对鸡气管上皮都不能特异粘附。     

禽病原性大肠杆菌6种血清型分离株外膜蛋白型的研究

从病鸡中分离的６ 种血清型（ Ｏ２、 Ｏ４６、 Ｏ１８、 Ｏ１２１、 Ｏ７６、 Ｏ１３１）及５ 种标准血清型（ Ｏ１、 Ｏ１５、 Ｏ３５、 Ｏ３６、 Ｏ７８）大肠杆菌中提取外膜蛋白（ Ｏｕｔｅｒ ｍ ｅｍ ｂｒａｎｅ ｐｒｏｔｅｉｎ）,经 Ｓ Ｄ Ｓ－ Ｐ Ａ Ｇ Ｅ 分析表明,分离株 Ｏ７６、 Ｏ１３１及标准株 Ｏ１、 Ｏ３５的外膜蛋白型由２ 条带组成,为 Ｏ Ｍ Ｐ－ １ 型;分离株 Ｏ２、 Ｏ４６、 Ｏ１８、 Ｏ１２１和标准株 Ｏ１５、 Ｏ３６、 Ｏ７８的外膜蛋白型由３ 条带组成,为 Ｏ Ｍ Ｐ－ ２ 型,结果表明,不同血清型菌株之间有相同的 Ｏ Ｍ Ｐ型。     

papA gene of avian pathogenic Escherichia coli

P fimbrial adhesins may be associated with the virulence of avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC). However, most APECs are unable to express P fimbriae even when they are grown under conditions that favor P fimbrial expression. This failure can be explained by the complete absence of the pap operon or the presence of an incomplete pap operon in Pap-negative APEC strains. In the present study, we analyzed the pap operon, specifically the papA gene that encodes the major fimbrial shaft, to better understand the pap gene cluster at the genetic level. First, by PCR, we examined a collection of 500 APEC strains for the presence of 11 genes comprising the pap operon. Except for papA, all the other genes of the operon were present in 38% to 41.2% of APEC, whereas the papA was present only in 10.4% of the APEC tested. Using multiplex PCR to probe for allelic variants of papA, we sought to determine if the low prevalence of papA among APEC was related to genetic heterogeneity of the gene itself. It was determined that the papA of APEC always belongs to the F11 allelic variant. Finally, we sequenced the 'papA region' from two papA-negative strains, both of which contain all the other genes of the pap operon. Interestingly, both strains had an 11,104-bp contig interruptingpapA at the 281-bp position. This contig harbored a streptomycin resistance gene and a classic Tn10 transposon containing the genes that confer tetracycline resistance. However, we noted that the papA gene of every papA-negative APEC strain was not interrupted by an 11,104-bp contig. It is likely that transposons bearing antibiotic resistance genes have inserted within pap gene cluster of some APEC strains, and such genetic events may have been selected for by antibiotic use.     

Construction, characterization, and evaluation of the vaccine potential of three genetically defined mutants of avian pathogenic Escherichia coli

The delta galE, delta purA, and delta aroA derivatives of avian septicemic Escherichia coli EC99 strain (O78 serogroup) were constructed with a suicide vector containing the pir-dependent R6K replicon and the sacB gene of Bacillus subtilis. The resultant isogenic mutants were stable and lacked approximately 45%, 36%, and 52% of the genes for galE, purA, and aroA, respectively. The delta purA and delta aroA mutants did not grow on minimal medium, whereas the delta galE mutant grew on minimal medium but was sensitive to galactose-induced lysis. The reversion frequencies of all three mutants were <10(-12). The mutants were highly attenuated for virulence as determined by administration of approximately 10(7) colony-forming units of each mutant to 1-day-old chicks by the subcutaneous route. Chickens were vaccinated with the mutants by spray (droplet size approximately 20 microm) at 1 and 14 days of age to determine safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy. The mutants were found to be safe. Seven days after a second vaccination, immunoglobulin (Ig)Y antibodies to E. coli in serum and air sac washings were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. In both serum and air sac washings, IgY antibodies were significantly higher in chickens vaccinated with the mutants as compared with phosphate-buffered saline-treated controls but were significantly lower compared with chickens that were vaccinated with the parent strain. In serum, but not in air sac washings, IgY antibodies were significantly lower in chickens vaccinated with the mutants compared with the parent strain. The vaccinated chickens were given infectious bronchitis virus intranasally at 17 days of age and were challenged with homologous (EC99 strain) or heterologous (O2 serogroup) E. coli 4 days later. Chickens that received wild-type EC99 strain or its mutant derivatives were protected from homologous but not from heterologous challenge. This study indicates that the delta galE, delta purA, and delta aroA mutants are safe and moderately immunogenic but the protection conferred by the mutants is serogroup specific.     

Vacuolating cytotoxin produced by avian pathogenic Escherichia coli

The purpose of this study was to determine whether avian pathogenic Escherichia coli produced cytotoxic activity. Culture supernatants of 20 E. coli strains isolated from cellulitis lesions in chickens, five E. coli strains from avian septicemia, five from swollen head syndrome, and five from the feces of healthy chickens were incubated with primary chicken embryo fibroblast (CEF) cells, primary chicken kidney (PCK) cells, a quail fibroblast cell line (QT-35), and four mammalian cell lines (human epithelioid cervical carcinoma, African green monkey kidney, Chinese hamster ovary, and human larynx epidermoid carcinoma). Cytotoxicity was observed with supernatants from the 30 avian pathogenic strains on the two primary chicken cells (CEF and PCK). The highest dilution of culture supenatant that induced cytotoxic changes in 50% of the cells was 1/64. Supernatants from the five strains from normal feces were noncytotoxic, and none of the supernatants was cytotoxic for the QT-35 or the four mammalian cell lines. The cytotoxic effect, which was observed as early as 2 hr after exposure of the cells, was maximal at 6 hr and was evident as vacuolation, morphologically indistinguishable from that previously reported for culture supernatants of Helicobacter pylori. Like the activity in H. pylori, the cytotoxicity of the avian pathogenic strains was destroyed by heating at 70 C for 30 min and by exposure to proteolytic enzymes and was retained by filtration with a 100,000 molecular weight cut-off ultrafilter. Supernatants of two vacuolating cytotoxin-positive cultures of H. pylori failed to induce vacuolation of the CEF and PCK cells but caused the characteristic vacuolation in HeLa and Vero cells. The observations suggest that avian pathogenic E. coli produce a cytotoxin that is similar to the cytotoxin of H. pylori but may be specific for avian cells.     

Pathotyping avian pathogenic Escherichia coli strains in Korea

To examine the genetic background of avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) that affects virulence of this microorganism, we characterized the virulence genes of 101 APEC strains isolated from infected chickens between 1985~2005. Serotypes were determined with available anti-sera and median lethal doses were determined in subcutaneously inoculated chicks. The virulence genes we tested included ones encoding type 1 fimbriae (fimC), iron uptake-related (iroN, irp2, iucD, and fyuA), toxins (lt, st, stx1, stx2, and vat), and other factors (tsh, hlyF, ompT, and iss). Twenty-eight strains were found to be O1 (2.0%), O18 (3.0%), O20 (1.0%), O78 (19.8%), and O115 (2.0%) serotypes. The iroN (100%) gene was observed most frequently followed by ompT (94.1%), fimC (90.1%), hlyF (87.1%), iss (78.2%), iucD (73.3%), tsh (61.4%), fyuA (44.6%), and irp2 (43.6%). The strains were negative for all toxin genes except for vat (10.9%). All the strains were classified into 27 molecular pathotypes (MPs). The MP25, MP19, and MP10 pathotypes possessing iroN-fimC-ompT-hlyF-iucD-tsh-iss-irp2-fyuA (22.8%), iroN-fimC-ompT-hlyF-iucD-tsh-iss (21.8%), and iroN-fimC-ompT-hlyF-iss (11.9%) genotypes, respectively, were predominant. Redundancy of iron uptake-related genes was clearly observed and some strains were associated with higher mortality than others. Therefore, strains with the predominant genotypes can be used for diagnosis and vaccine.     

Attenuation of an avian pathogenic Escherichia coli strain due to a mutation in the rpsL gene

The diseases caused by pathogenic Escherichia coli constitute a major economic loss to the poultry industry. The development of a live oral E. coli vaccine to prevent or reduce diseases in poultry had been the objective of our work. Four spontaneous streptomycin-dependent (str-dependent) mutants were generated from a virulent avian strain that contains a mutation in the fur region of the chromosome. Genetic analysis of the mutants indicated that the str-dependent phenotype was due to a base change of C --> T at base 272 in the rpsL gene. The mutants were tested for attenuation using the day-old chick model. Day-old birds, in groups of 20, were either challenged with 10(6) colony-forming units (CFU) of the str-dependent mutant, the parent strain (containing the fur mutation), or the wild-type strain without the fur mutation. The parent strain and the wild-type strain were highly virulent, and 80% or more of the birds died. None of the birds challenged with the str-dependent mutants died, indicating attenuation of the mutants. The protective effect of the mutant as a live vaccine against the challenge with 10(6) CFU of the wild-type strain EC317 was investigated. Vaccination by both aerosol (day 1) and oral (days 14 and 28) routes using 10(8) CFU of the str-dependent mutant (EC1598) had no effect on the occurrence of cellulitis in the birds. Two vaccinations given as aerosol on day 1 and given orally on day 14 also had no significant effect on the occurrence of systemic lesions. Three immunizations on days 1, 14, and 28 resulted in a significant reduction in the number of birds with systemic lesions. Antibody titers prior to challenge were not predictive of outcome of challenge.     

Characteristics of conjugative R-plasmids from pathogenic avian Escherichia coli.

Three of four virulent avian Escherichia coli isolates transferred a single large molecular-weight R-plasmid to two recipient E. coli strains. Antibiotic resistances transferred included streptomycin (two isolates) and streptomycin-tetracycline-sulfa (one isolate). Production of colicin and siderophores, complement resistance, and embryo lethality present in the virulent isolates were not transferred to recipient organisms. From the results, it appears that the R-plasmids of these virulent avian E. coli are not associated with virulence.     

禽致病性大肠杆菌生物被膜的形成及其影响因素

为确定影响细菌生物被膜(BF)的形成条件,本研究采用BF体外定性观察和定量粘附性检测两种方法对1株野生禽致病性大肠杆菌(E.coli)在不同环境(培养时间、培养基类型、引导载体类型、营养条件)下产生BF的差异进行了研究。结果显示野生禽致病性E.coli其宿主体外BF最适形成条件是培养时间为48h,培养基为5%TSB、引导载体为平底96孔聚苯乙烯微孔板(美国Corning Costar)。其生长周期为8h时开始起始粘附、24h形成若干微菌落、36h微菌落粘连、48h形成完整的BF、72h细菌脱落开始下一轮的BF生长。糖分和适量的无机盐都可以在一定程度上促进BF的形成和被膜内细菌的粘附性提高。该研究表明禽致病性E.coliBF的形成周期,并为抑制其形成提供了实验依据。     

TonB is essential for virulence in avian pathogenic Escherichia coli

Avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) strains have multiple iron-uptake systems that facilitate adaptation to iron-restricted environments and are believed to assist in colonisation of the host. These systems include several TonB-dependent transporters of ferri-siderophores encoded by the chromosome and the large virulence plasmid common to APECs. The tonB gene of the virulent APEC strain E956 was replaced with a selectable antibiotic resistance marker using Lambda Red recombinase mutagenesis. The phenotype of the ΔtonB E956 mutant was compared to the parent strain under various culture conditions and in chickens experimentally infected via the respiratory route. The mutant was resistant to streptonigrin, impaired in its ability to adapt to growth in iron-depleted medium and had greater tolerance of oxidative stress than the parental strain. The mutant was avirulent in chickens, did not affect the growth of chicks and colonisation was mostly limited to the trachea. This study has demonstrated that TonB is essential for virulence in APEC.     

Construction of iucB and iucBiutA mutants of avian pathogenic Escherichia coli and evaluation of their pathogenicity

Aerobactin counts for much to the pathogenesis of avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC), iutA is responsible for the expression of a specific outer membrane receptor protein for ferric aerobactin, and iucB is involved in the aerobactin synthesis. To our knowledge, the contribution of iucB to the pathogenicity of APEC has not been assessed till now. In this study, the mutants E058ΔiucB and E058ΔiucBΔiutA were constructed and characterized. There were no differences observed in a series of tests including the embryo lethality, invasion assay in HD11 cells and the ability to survive in SPF chicken serum. Meanwhile, the mutants showed decreased pathogenicity as compared with the wild-type strain through a series of experiments in vivo. The mutants E058ΔiucB and E058ΔiucBΔiutA greatly reduced in all of the tested tissues in vivo persistence (p<0.001). In the meantime, the mutants had no ability to produce aerobactin. Reintroduction of the iucB gene on a multicopy expression plasmid pGEX-6p-1 restored the capacity to produce aerobactin as similar to that of wild-type strain E058. The results indicated that the iucB gene related virulence factors including the iron assimilation system were important for the pathogenesis of APEC E058. As showed in the in vivo competition assay, compared to the parental strain E058, E058ΔiucB had a significant reduction of bacterial loads in heart (p<0.01), liver (p<0.01), kidney (p<0.01), spleen (p<0.05) and lung (p<0.05), respectively, while E058ΔiucBΔiutA had a sharp reduction in all of the five tissues to be tested (p<0.001). These results suggested that the single gene either iucB or iutA was likely to be involved directly or indirectly in iron uptake for the pathogenicity of APEC E058, and there was an obviously synergistic effect between iucB and iutA genes on the pathogenicity of APEC E058.