Predominance of the PapGII allele among avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) with high sequence homology to human isolates.

Avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) is often found in poultry and is responsible for a set of diseases, commonly referred to as avian colibacillosis. One of the important virulence factors is adhesion to different epithelial surfaces, which is mediated by pili. P pili are thought to play a role by means of their PapG adhesin, which occurs in three molecular variants: PapGI, PapGII and PapGIII. This study is the first to determine and analyze the distribution of the different papG alleles in avian E. coli strains. Our results show a significant predominance of allele papGII above all other alleles or allele combinations. No statistically significant associations could be found between papG allele distribution and the animal breed, organ of isolation and serotype. The papGII and papGIII sequences showed a high homology with mammalian (including human) papG sequences, implicating a possible zoonosis. Finally, due to its predominant character, papGII is a promising potential vaccine candidate for APEC.

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