Feline uropathogenic Escherichia coli from Great Britain and New Zealand have dissimilar virulence factor genotypes

We investigated the prevalence of 30 known virulence factor genes (VFGs) in uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) from two geographically distinct feline populations, using a PCR-based approach. E. coli isolates were also subjected to macrorestriction analysis to assess their phylogenetic relationships. VFG profiles differed considerably according to the geographic origin of the isolates, enabling discriminant analysis to correctly predict population membership for 15/15 NZ isolates and 18/22 UK isolates. The prevalence of gene markers for P-fimbriae (PapA, PapC, PapEF, and PapG III), colicin V (CvaC), increased serum survival factor (Iss), complement resistance factor (TraT), pathogenicity-associated island (MalX), iron-regulated siderophore receptor (IreA) and haemolysin (HlyD) differed significantly between UK and NZ isolates. Significant phylogenetic differences between the two populations were also identified, but VFG profiles could not be predicted on the basis of phylogenetic relationships. Consequently, a geographically uneven distribution of certain virulence genes, independent of phylogeny, is the likely cause of VFG differences between populations. We cannot rule out that subtle differences in patient disease status may have contributed to the dissimilarity of VFG profiles.