Participation of pili and cell wall adhesion in the yeast agglutination activity of Escherichia coli.

Escherichia coli strain 2699 (O6:K13) which had been isolated from a case of urinary tract infection exhibited pili during the stationary phase (24 to 40 h), but not during the exponential phase (4 h), when grown in static broth culture. The bacteria were also piliated when grown for 24 h on agar. They agglutinated Saccharomyces cerevisiae (baker's yeast) in the piliated as well as in the nonpiliated state. The agglutinations were mannose sensitive, i.e., they could be inhibited with 50 mM methyl-alpha-mannoside. The bacteria were first depiliated by shearing and then used for the isolation of outer membrane vesicles with an Omnimixer. Purified pili and outer membranes were characterized by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and electron microscopy. The pili could be demonstrated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis only after treatment at low pH or in saturated guanidine hydrochloride which is typical of the common type 1 pili. Depiliated bacteria, purified pili, and purified outer membranes gave mannose-sensitive agglutination of S. cerevisiae. The findings are discussed with respect to possible mechanisms of cell agglutination.