Organization of genes responsible for the production of mannose-resistant fimbriae of a uropathogenic Escherichia coli isolate.

A group of insertion mutants was used to define the genes of plasmid pDC5 required for the expression of mannose-resistant fimbriae. Minicell experiments identified four polypeptides (71,000, 45,000, 27,000, and 17,000 daltons) concerned with fimbrial production, the smallest of these being the fimbrial subunit. The approximate location of the structural genes encoding these polypeptides and one possible additional polypeptide not identified in minicell experiments has been established. Complementation experiments in vivo showed that these genes are arranged in more than one operon. The direction of transcription of the fimbrial genes was established by creating beta-galactosidase fusions by using the mini-Mu d1681 kanamycin resistance transposon.