The Ability of Cellulose Polysaccharide and Curli Pili Production in Uropathogenic Escherichia Coli and its Association with Biofilm Formation Intensity

Abstract        Background and Objective: the Formation of urinary infection by uropathogenic E.coli needs   numerous virulence factors and biofilm formation is among these factors. Bacteria that form biofilms express phenotype traits that appear according to the bacteria type. Cellulose is an important compound on the outside of E.coli causing bacterial cell-cell reactions and connection to nonliving surfaces. Curli pili cause the reaction between cell-cell and surface-cell in biofilms and lead to bacteria aggregation. Microorganisms’ ability to form biofilm on a surface depends on the surface nature and its conditions. This study aimed at determining the production ability of cellulose polysaccharide and curli pili in UPEC strains, and its correlation with formation and intensity of biofilm.        Methods: In this study carried out to compare the ability of cellulose and pili curli production ability in  40 uropathogenic E.coli isolates ,by morphotype  method in Congo Red medium (CR), each isolate was incubated at 37 oC, for 24 hours. After 24 hours, all colonies’ morphology characteristics were studied      Results: It was shown that 67.5% of strains produced cellulose and 72.5% produced curli pili. In addition, 92.6% and 89% of isolates that produce cellulose and curli, respectively, had a moderate to strong biofilm. Moreover, it was shown that there is a significant correlation between cellulose and / or curli pili production with biofilm intensity.        Conclusion: About 70% of E.coli isolates from patients' urine are able to produce cellulose or curli pili; therefore, it can be concluded that the production of these two combinations is effective in amount and intensity of biofilm formation.        Keywords: Escherichia coli; Cellulose Polysaccharide; Curli Pili; Biofilm.