Flagellin FliC protein sequence diversity among

Authors: Brahim Soufiane Dong Xu JeanCharles Côté

Publish Date: 2007/06/20

Volume: 92, Issue: 4, Pages: 449-461

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Abstract

In Escherichia coli the fliC gene encodes flagellin the protein responsible for eliciting the immunological reaction in H serotyping Here the presence of the flagellin fliC gene was studied in 86 Bacillus thuringiensis strains encompassing 67 H serotypes Nineteen strains from four additional species in the B cereus sensu lato group B cereus B anthracis B mycoides and B weihenstephanensis were added for comparison purposes The fliC genes were amplified cloned and their nucleotide sequences determined and translated into amino acid sequences A bootstrapped neighborjoining tree was generated from the alignment of the translated amino acid sequences of the amplicons Although most B thuringiensis H serotypes had different flagellin amino acid sequences some different B thuringiensis serovars shared identical flagellin amino acid sequences In addition although serovars from the same H serotype were sometimes found clustered together several serovars from the same H serotype carried flagellins with sufficiently different amino acid sequences as to be located on distant clusters No correlations could be established between flagellin FliC protein sequence diversity among B thuringiensis H serotypes and H serotype diversity These suggest that the B thuringiensis fliC gene does not code for the flagellin copy responsible for eliciting the immunological reaction in H serotyping In a previous study the authors have shown that the B thuringiensis hag gene codes for the flagellin copy responsible for eliciting the immunological reaction in H serotyping It is proposed that the B thuringiensis fliC gene studied here be renamed and that the socalled hag gene studied before be renamed fliC both in accordance with the E coli nomenclatureWe thank Monika EhlingSchulz from the Microbial Ecology Group Technical University of Munich Freising Germany for providing us with B weihenstephanensis DNA We also thank Huguette de Barjac MargueriteM Lecadet Emmanuel Frachon and JeanFrançois Charles formerly from the International Entomopathogenic Bacillus Centre Institut Pasteur Paris France Daniel R Zeigler from the Bacillus Genetic Stock Center The Ohio State University Columbus OH USA and Zdena Pacova from the Czech Collection of Microorganisms Masaryk University Brno Czech Republic for providing us with bacterial strains

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