Genetic organization and complete sequence of the Proteus mirabilis pmf fimbrial operon.

Proteus mirabilis, commonly associated with urinary tract infection, pyelonephritis and bacteremia, produces a number of fimbriae, including PMF (P. mirabilis fimbriae). Genes encoding PMF were isolated and the complete nucleotide (nt) sequence was determined. The pmf gene cluster, encoded by 5655 bp, predicts five polypeptides: PmfA (18,921 Da), PmfC (93,107 Da), PmfD (28,208 Da), PmfE (38,875 Da) and PmfF (19,661 Da). PmfA, PmfC, PmfD and PmfF share > 25% amino acid (aa) sequence identity with gene products of the pap, mrp and sfa fimbrial gene clusters. PmfE shares no similarity with any polypeptide in the SwissProt database. No regulatory gene(s) or regulatory elements were evident in the sequence. The pmf cluster shares common features with other enteric fimbrial gene clusters, but also displays features that are unique.