Mannose-sensitive and Gal-Gal binding Escherichia coli pili from recombinant strains. Chemical, functional, and serological properties.

Chromosomal genes encoding the MS and Gal-Gal binding properties have been cloned into separate recombinants and their respective pili characterized. Hapten inhibition of hemagglutination with synthetic carbohydrate receptor analogues and carbohydrate-adsorbed latex agglutination studies indicate that Gal-Gal and MS pili collectively exhibit the binding properties of the parent strain. MS pili migrated in SDS-PAGE with an Mr of 19 kdaltons and 17 kdaltons; the Mr of Gal-Gal pili was 17.5 kdaltons. The pili are chemically similar by amino acid composition and when the N-terminal cysteines are aligned, 8 of the 13 residues between positions 9 and 22 are homologous. Further, carboxy-terminal sequence homology was inferred from the carboxypeptidase digestion of a MS pili and the sequence of a carboxy-terminal tryptic peptide from Gal-Gal pili.