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. 1984 Nov;160(2):691–695. doi: 10.1128/jb.160.2.691-695.1984

Immunofluorescence study of fimbrial phase variation in Escherichia coli KS71.

B Nowicki, M Rhen, V Väisänen-Rhen, A Pere, T K Korhonen
PMCID: PMC214791  PMID: 6150023

Abstract

An immunofluorescence assay was developed to study fimbrial phase variation in a pyelonephritogenic Escherichia coli strain, KS71. By using fluorochrome-labeled antibodies specific for either P, type-1C, or type-1 fimbriae of strain KS71, it was shown that in a broth culture of strain KS71 the fimbrial types mostly occurred on different cells. Only 9% of the cells carried more than one fimbrial type. The KS71 cell population was fractionated into subpopulations expressing only one of the fimbrial types or lacking fimbriae. Immunofluorescence assay of the subpopulations revealed a rapid phase variation in fimbrial synthesis. Kinetic analyses of a nonfimbriated cell population suggested that a change from one fimbrial phase to another was not totally random.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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