Antiserum against Raoultella terrigena ATCC 33257 identifies a large number of Raoultella and Klebsiella clinical isolates as serotype O12

作者：Mertens Katja^*; Mueller Loennies Sven; Stengel Petra; Podschun Rainer; Hansen Dennis S; Mamat Uwe

来源：Innate Immunity, 2010, 16(6): 366-380.

DOI：10.1177/1753425909350057

• ABC transporter
• Klebsiella pneumoniae O12
• lipopolysaccharide
• O-polysaccharide serotype
• Raoultella terrigena

Raoultella terrigena ATCC 33257, recently reclassified from the genus Klebsiella, is a drinking water isolate and belongs to a large group of non-typeable Klebsiella and Raoultella strains. Using an O-antiserum against a capsule-deficient mutant of this strain, we could show a high prevalence (10.5%) of the R. terrigena O-serotype among non-typeable, clinical Klebsiella and Raoultella isolates. We observed a strong serological cross-reaction with the K. pneumoniae 012 reference strain, indicating that a large percentage of these non-typeable strains may belong to the 012 serotype, although these are currently not detectable by the K. pneumoniae 012 reference antiserum in use. Therefore, we analyzed the O-polysaccharide (O-PS) structure and genetic organization of the wb gene cluster of R. terrigena ATCC 33257, and both confirmed a close relation of R. terrigena and K. pneumoniae O12. The two strains possess an identical O-PS, lipopolysaccharide core structure, and genetic organization of the wb gene cluster. Heterologous expression of the R. terrigena wb gene cluster in Escherichia coli K-12 resulted in the WecA-dependent synthesis of an O-PS reactive with the K. pneumoniae 012 antiserum. The serological data presented here suggest a higher prevalence of the O12-serotype among Klebsiella and Raoultella isolates than generally assumed.

• 出版日期2010-12