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Distinct Acid Resistance and Survival Fitness Displayed by Curli Variants of Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7

ABSTRACT Curli are adhesive fimbriae of Enterobacteriaceae and are involved in surface attachment, cell aggregation, and biofilm formation. Here, we report that both inter- and intrastrain variations in curli production are widespread in enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7. The relative proportions of curli-producing variants (C+) and curli-deficient variants (C−) in an E. coli O157:H7 cell population varied depending on the growth conditions. In variants derived from the 2006 U.S. spinach outbreak strains, the shift between the C+ and C− subpopulations occurred mostly in response to starvation and was unidirectional from C− to C+; in variants derived from the 1993 hamburger outbreak strains, the shift occurred primarily in response to oxygen depletion and was bidirectional. Furthermore, curli variants derived from the same strain displayed marked differences in survival fitness: C+ variants grew to higher concentrations in nutrient-limited conditions than C− variants, whereas C− variants were significantly more acid resistant than C+ variants. This difference in acid resistance does not appear to be linked to the curli fimbriae per se, since a csgA deletion mutant in either a C+ or a C− variant exhibited an acid resistance similar to that of its parental strain. Our data suggest that natural curli variants of E. coli O157:H7 carry several distinct physiological properties that are important for their environmental survival. Maintenance of curli variants in an E. coli O157:H7 population may provide a survival strategy in which C+ variants are selected in a nutrient-limited environment, whereas C− variants are selected in an acidic environment, such as the stomach of an animal host, including that of a human.