BACKGROUND
escherichia coli o157:h <dig> is a human pathogen that causes hemorrhagic colitis in humans and in some cases may incite hemolytic uremic syndrome  <cit> .
cattle are a principal reservoir and contaminated ground beef is most frequently implicated in foodborne outbreaks associated with this human pathogen  <cit> .
adult cattle harboring serotype o157:h <dig> strains are asymptomatic, and the numbers and duration of shedding are influenced by a number of factors including feed, the microbial composition of the intestinal tract, the time of year, and environmental sources  <cit> .
the complex interplay between the bovine host and e. coli o157:h <dig> persistence has not been fully elucidated although naylor et al.
<cit>  recently demonstrated localization and adherence to mucosal epithelium in the recto-anal junction.
the changing conditions encountered by e. coli o157:h <dig> in the bovine intestinal tract and the environment require that it closely control metabolism and stress protection.
h-ns is a cytoplasmic protein that is abundant in the e. coli nucleoid  <cit> .
it plays a role in the condensation of chromosomal dna by binding to curved dna and consequently can influence the expression of many genes either directly or indirectly  <cit> .
the level of h-ns in cells remains relatively constant throughout log- and stationary-phases although hns transcription is subject to auto repression  <cit> .
the production of over  <dig> proteins in e. coli are either transcriptionally or translationally controlled by h-ns  <cit> .
several genes modulated by h-ns are responsive to changes in environmental conditions like ph, osmolarity, and temperature  <cit> .
the involvement of h-ns in modulating genes responsive to environmental stimuli make it an important regulator of virulence in several pathogens including shigella and salmonella  <cit> .
although there has been considerable work on gene regulation by h-ns, there has been comparatively little work on its impact on bacterial metabolism and stress tolerance.
considering the varied and changing environments encountered by e. coli o157:h <dig>  a detailed understanding of the consequences of modulators that are responsive to environmental conditions is particularly important.
to this end, an hns mutant was constructed to define the growth and metabolic changes and any subsequent impact on gastrointestinal passage in this important human pathogen.
RESULTS
generation and confirmation of the hns::npti mutant
a 695-bp fragment that includes the hns structural gene and upstream regulatory region was amplified by pcr from genomic dna of e. coli o157:h <dig> atcc  <dig>  the nucleotide sequence of the ecori-bamhi fragment was determined and was identical to the sequenced gene in e. coli o157:h <dig> edl <dig>  <cit> .
transconjugants resulting from the conjugation of psc <dig> from e. coli sm <dig> λpir to e. coli o157:h <dig> strain atcc  <dig> were kanamycin resistant, ampicillin sensitive, sucrose positive, and o <dig> positive.
confirmation of a double crossover in which wild-type hns was replaced with hns::npti was confirmed by pcr .
pcr analysis of genomic dna from the parental strain  with primers choi <dig> and choi <dig> generated a 375-bp fragment; whereas, genomic dna from the hns::npti mutant  resulted in a dna fragment approximately  <dig> -kb in length.
the  <dig> -kb fragment is in agreement with the projected size of the dna fragment containing wild-type hns  and the npti gene .
growth and serological characteristics
the growth of the hns mutant  in lb at 37°c was slower and reached a lower maximum optical density than the parent strain or frik47001p containing psc <dig> .
the doubling times of the parent, complemented, and mutant strains were  <dig>   <dig>  and  <dig> minutes, respectively.
the maximum od <dig> nm achieved by the parent and complemented strains was  <dig>  to  <dig>  after  <dig> h of incubation while the hns mutant reached a maximum od <dig> nm =  <dig> .
similar to the results in lb, the growth of the hns mutant in lb supplemented with mucin or in fecal slurries was slower and reached a lower final density than the parent strain.
in addition, the colony size of the hns mutant on agar media was smaller than the parent and complemented strains.
the presence of kanamycin in the growth media did not influence the growth of the mutant.
these results are in agreement with results with hns mutants of non-pathogenic e. coli which had greater doubling times than the parent strains  <cit> .
one contributor to the longer doubling time is the increased σs level in the hns mutant, which is partially suppressed in hns rpos double mutants  <cit> .
the hns mutant tested negative for the h <dig> antigen and was non-motile in motility medium ; however, the o <dig> antigen was still detected.
the absence of h <dig> is consistent with previous data showing that h-ns is involved in the control of flagella gene expression and that hns mutants are non-motile  <cit> .
growth inhibition by ph, nacl, and bile
in addition to slower growth, the hns mutant was more susceptible to inhibition by low ph, nacl, bile  and cefixime  compared to the parent and complemented strains.
low temperature further slows the growth of hns mutants  <cit> .
thus, the growth of the mutant was further restricted when low temperature was combined with another inhibitor.
the minimum growth ph of the hns mutant at the different temperatures was  <dig>  to  <dig>  which was  <dig>  to  <dig>  ph unit higher than the parent and complemented strains with the greatest difference observed at the lowest incubation temperature .
both the parent and complemented strains grew at ph  <dig>  at each incubation temperature.
similar to the results with ph, the hns mutant grew in lb supplemented with a maximum of 4–6% nacl compared to 6–7% for the parent and complemented strains.
the test strains tolerated the highest concentration of nacl when incubated at 25°c.
there was one exception in which the hns mutant complemented with psc <dig> grew in a maximum of 4% nacl at  <dig> °c which was equivalent to the maximum level tolerated by the hns mutant.
it is unclear why the complemented strain differed from the parent strain in this case where in all other growth conditions the results were the same.
an unexpected finding was the ability of the e. coli o157:h <dig> to grow in lb containing bile compounds at 14–15%.
the hns mutant was significantly more sensitive to bile salts and bovine bile preparations and grew in the presence of a maximum of  <dig> % and  <dig> % of these compounds, respectively.
the growth of the strains in the presence of bile was further studied in lb containing 5% bile salts.
although the hns mutant grew, it had a greatly extended lag period  in comparison to the parent and complemented strains  .
acid tolerance
the acid tolerance of the parent, hns mutant, and complemented strains was tested using both log- and stationary-phase cells.
the survival of log-phase cells of the hns mutant was significantly greater  than the parent strain when challenged in synthetic gastric fluid  .
these findings are consistent with the derepression of σs -regulated genes in the absence of h-ns.
stationary phase increased the acid tolerance compared to log phase in all three strains and the numbers decreased by less than  <dig> log <dig> cfu/ml after  <dig> h of acid challenge .
however, the parent and hns-complemented strains exhibited similar acid tolerance that was significantly greater  than the hns mutant.
in contrast to the findings with acid challenges conducted in synthetic gastric fluid that is acidified with hydrochloric acid, there was no difference in the survival of the parent and hns mutant strains challenged in lb acidified with acetic or lactic acids .
glutamate decarboxylase activity
in an attempt to discern the reduced acid tolerance in stationary-phase cells of the hns mutant, glutamate decarboxylase  activity was measured .
the hns mutant had significantly less  gad activity than the parent strain and strain frik47001p complemented with psc <dig>  when examining stationary-phase cells .
these findings provide one possible explanation for the reduced acid tolerance in comparison to the parent strain of the hns mutant in stationary phase.
sole carbon and nitrogen sources
metabolic characterization using phenotype microarrays showed that the hns mutant was incapable of utilizing  <dig> carbon and  <dig> nitrogen sources that the parent strain metabolized .
the ability of the hns mutant to uptake and/or use a variety of substrates as sole carbon sources was significantly altered.
the parent strain was able to use six amino acids as sole carbon sources that the hns mutant was unable to utilize.
the mutant did not use several disaccharides  and trehalose, dulcitol, d-ribose, and dextrin.
in addition, eight organic acids, including pyruvate, were not used as a sole carbon sources by the hns mutant .
h-ns is involved in the regulation of genes associated with carbohydrate metabolism, like the maltose operon  <cit> , but there were no carbon sources that were metabolized by the mutant that were not utilized by the parent strain.
the parent strain metabolized six amino acids as sole nitrogen sources that the hns mutant was unable to use; however, the mutant was capable of using several dipeptides .
nitrite was one nitrogen source that was utilized by the hns mutant but not the parent strain .
the findings from this metabolic characterization greatly expand the role of h-ns as a regulator of carbon and nitrogen metabolism in e. coli.
gastrointestinal passage
testing of fecal samples prior to inoculation determined that mice were e. coli o157:h <dig> negative and that few bacteria grew on the selective agar that were similar to the inoculation strain .
the administration of the parent strain, hns mutant , and hns mutant complemented with psc <dig> did not result in signs of illness in icr mice.
although mice were tested for  <dig> days post inoculation, all mice that shed the inoculated e. coli o157:h <dig> strain tested positive one day after inoculation and some mice continued to shed the strain at day  <dig>  no fecal samples tested positive at day  <dig>  the results from three trials are shown in table  <dig>  the parent strain was recovered from a total of  <dig> mice of  <dig> inoculated with log-phase cells  while only a single mouse receiving the hns mutant tested positive at a dose of  <dig> cfu.
the results between the parent and hns mutant were statistically different  at a dose of  <dig>  similar results were obtained with stationary-phase cells of the parent strain, which was detected in a total of  <dig> of  <dig> mice inoculated.
the passage of the hns mutant was not improved when stationary-phase cells were administered, and the feces from only  <dig> mouse  of  <dig> inoculated tested positive.
at doses of  <dig> and  <dig> cfu, the results with stationary-phase cells of the parent strain were statistically different  from those obtained with the hns mutant.
the passage of the hns mutant complemented with a functional hns in psc <dig> was similar to that of the parent strain .
the diminished passage of the hns mutant was further demonstrated when the percent of the dose surviving passage through the mouse was calculated.
approximately,  <dig> % of the parent strain and  <dig> % of the hns mutant complemented with psc <dig> were recovered in feces compared to only  <dig> % of the hns mutant that was determined from the few fecal samples that harbored the mutant.
these results demonstrate that h-ns significantly impacts gastrointestinal passage in mice.
discussion
e. coli o157:h <dig> must respond to changing environmental conditions whether it is present in the gastrointestinal tract or the environment  <cit> .
metabolic pathways must be carefully controlled and stress-protection systems triggered in a timely manner to effectively compete and survive.
h-ns is a major component of the bacterial nucleoid, having pleiotropic effects on gene expression, genome stability and dna recombination  <cit> .
h-ns is involved in the control of several genes in e. coli associated with the metabolism of specific substrates as well as stress protection  <cit> ; such as lrp , σs , and two-component systems   <cit> .
thus, h-ns is a master regulator affecting the expression of individual genes and regulons with several of the phenotypes observed in hns mutants occurring as a result of indirect effects on gene expression  <cit> .
in our studies of an hns mutant of e. coli o157:h <dig>  the growth was slower than the parent strain.
although it is not completely understood, the increased doubling time in hns mutants is partially related to the increased level of σs and the possibility of secondary site mutations that affect growth  <cit> .
h-ns negatively influences the level of σs at the posttranscriptional level  <cit> , and the level of σs increases in log-phase cells of hns mutants  <cit> .
another factor that contributes to the level of σs in hns mutants is the increase in the heat-shock chaperone dnak which enhances σs stability  <cit> .
the increase in σs results in the production of σs-regulated proteins some of which are involved in stress protection  <cit> .
results from this study using phenotypic microarrays showed that h-ns has a significant impact on carbon and nitrogen metabolism that likely impact the growth of the mutant .
among the substrates that were not metabolized were several carbon and nitrogen sources, including several key metabolic intermediates  that likely influence growth and energy generation.
it is probable that the slower growth of the hns mutant is a result of the combined effects of the increased level of σs  <cit>  and altered substrate metabolism.
however, another possibility that cannot be excluded is the generation of a second site mutation that influenced growth  <cit> .
the growth of the hns mutant was also more susceptible to inhibition by nacl and bile salts than the parent strain .
these differences were accentuated by sub-optimal growth temperature, often encountered when outside of the intestinal tract.
a significant finding from these growth comparisons was the high tolerance of the parent e. coli o157:h <dig> strain to bile and bile salts , while the growth of the hns mutant was limited to a maximum of  <dig>  and  <dig> %, respectively.
bile salts are produced by the liver to breakdown fat and are deleterious to biological membranes.
e. coli must tolerate bile salts that can reach concentrations of  <dig> mm in the duodenum and even higher in the small intestine  <cit> .
the reduced capacity of the mutant to tolerate bile salts might be a consequence of membrane changes in the hns mutant.
h-ns is known to influence expression of at least 5% of the genes in e. coli, many that encode for membrane proteins  <cit> .
the possibility of an altered membrane is supported by the inhibition of the mutant by the cephalosporin-like antibiotic, cefixime, while the parent strain grew in media containing  <dig>  μg cefixime/ml.
future studies with h-ns-deficient strains should be useful in identifying the proteins involved in bile tolerance in e. coli o157:h <dig> strains.
acid tolerance is one characteristic that influences the persistence of e. coli o157:h <dig> shedding in cattle  <cit>  and may promote survival during gastric passage in humans  <cit> .
the increased acid tolerance of the hns mutant in comparison to the parent strain in log-phase cells is consistent with the expression of σs-regulated proteins  <cit> .
in stationary-phase cells, the acid tolerance increased in all three strains  in comparison to log-phase cells.
however, the hns mutant was less acid tolerant than the parent strain in stationary phase.
the gad system comprised of gada and gadb, two isoforms of glutamate decarboxylase, and gadc that encodes for a glutamate/γ-aminobutyrate antiporter  <cit>  is one contributor to acid tolerance.
results from the phenotype microarrays showed that the hns mutant did not utilize glutamate as a sole carbon source; therefore, we compared glutamate decarboxylase activity in stationary-phase cells of the mutant and parent strains.
the specific activity of glutamate decarboxylase was reduced in the hns mutant  compared to the parent strain.
the decreased specific acitivity of glutamate decarboxylase may explain the difference in acid tolerance between the hns mutant and parent strain in stationary-phase cells.
in mouse passage studies, recovery of the hns mutant was significantly less than the parent strain .
the mutant was recovered from a single mouse in each of three trials conducted with log-phase and stationary-phase cells.
it is possible that the reduced ability of the hns mutant to survive mouse passage is a consequence of a depleted energy supply, resulting from its limited capacity to metabolize available substrates, which is necessary for the optimal functioning of homeostasis or stress protection systems .
gene expression profiles of mucus-grown e. coli have identified genes involved in the catabolism of gluconate, n-acetylglucosamine, sialic acid, glucuronate, mannose, fucose, and ribose are induced and considered preferred carbon sources  <cit> .
mutants incapable of metabolizing these seven carbohydrates have a decreased capacity to colonize streptomycin-treated mice.
although the mouse passage assay employed in this study did not evaluate colonization, the results from phenotype microarrays found that five of the seven carbohydrates identified by chang et al.
<cit>  as preferred carbon sources were utilized by the hns mutant while the e. coli o157:h <dig> parent strain used all seven carbon sources .
in addition, the hns mutant grew in mucin-supplemented lb broth and fecal slurries to a concentration essentially equivalent to that of the parent strain although the lag-phase was longer and the growth rate slower than that of the parent strain which is similar to the results obtained in growth studies conducted in lb.
therefore, a defect in the ability to utilize a mucin carbohydrate is probably not the reason for the reduced passage of the hns mutant.
there are a number of possible antimicrobial factors in the gastrointestinal tract that may be responsible for the diminished capacity of the hns mutant to survive passage through icr mice.
acetate can reach a concentration of  <dig> mm in the intestinal tract  <cit> .
although log-phase cells of the mutant were more acid tolerant in challenges conducted with hydrochloric acid, additional challenges were conducted with acetic and lactic acids because results from phenotype microarrays found that the mutant did not utilize acetate or lactate as sole carbon sources.
it was reasoned that tolerance to these acids might be impaired, but acid challenges with lactic acid and acetic acid at ph  <dig>  found no difference in the survival of the parent and hns mutant strains with log- or stationary-phase cells .
another possibility is that bile salts may have affected passage of the hns mutant through mice.
in addition to being inhibitory, bile in association with h-ns is known to repress virulence genes  <cit> .
however, additional experiments are needed with bile-sensitive mutants and measurements of bile acid concentrations in the mouse intestinal tract to confirm that bile was responsible for the reduced recoveries of the hns mutant.
considering that the intestinal tract contains at least  <dig> bacterial species  <cit> , it is also possible that one of the commensal microbes produces an antimicrobial factor that is detrimental to the hns mutant.
studies with gnotoxenic mice would be particularly valuable in addressing the contributions of competing flora on the survival of the hns mutant.
based upon the results from this study, the most plausible explanation for the reduced passage of the hns mutant through mice is the regulatory impairments that influence growth and stress protection.
CONCLUSIONS
results from this study significantly expand the importance of h-ns in carbon and nitrogen metabolism  as well as stress tolerance that collectively influence the ability of e. coli o157:h <dig> to respond to changing conditions it encounters in its host and the environment.
this is the first report of the high tolerance of e. coli o157:h <dig> strains to bile and bile salts that may be of significance in localization and persistence within its bovine host and possibly during human infection.
studies are in progress to identify, which proteins that are influenced by h-ns contribute to bile tolerance.
the results from this study also establish h-ns as a potential target for control of this important human pathogen.

 escherichia coli o157:h is a human pathogen that causes hemorrhagic colitis in humans and in some cases may incite hemolytic uremic syndrome. cattle are a principal reservoir and contaminated ground beef is most frequently implicated in foodborne outbreaks associated with this human pathogen. adult cattle harboring serotype o157:h strains are asymptomatic, and the numbers and duration of shedding are influenced by a number of factors including feed, the microbial composition of the intestinal tract, the time of year, and environmental sources. the complex interplay between the bovine host and e. coli o157:h persistence has not been fully elucidated although naylor et al. recently demonstrated localization and adherence to mucosal epithelium in the recto-anal junction. the changing conditions encountered by e. coli o157:h in the bovine intestinal tract and the environment require that it closely control metabolism and stress protection. h-ns is a cytoplasmic protein that is abundant in the e. coli nucleoid. it plays a role in the condensation of chromosomal dna by binding to curved dna and consequently can influence the expression of many genes either directly or indirectly. the level of h-ns in cells remains relatively constant throughout log- and stationary-phases although hns transcription is subject to auto repression. the production of over proteins in e. coli are either transcriptionally or translationally controlled by h-ns. several genes modulated by h-ns are responsive to changes in environmental conditions like ph, osmolarity, and temperature. the involvement of h-ns in modulating genes responsive to environmental stimuli make it an important regulator of virulence in several pathogens including shigella and salmonella. although there has been considerable work on gene regulation by h-ns, there has been comparatively little work on its impact on bacterial metabolism and stress tolerance. considering the varied and changing environments encountered by e. coli o157:h a detailed understanding of the consequences of modulators that are responsive to environmental conditions is particularly important. to this end, an hns mutant was constructed to define the growth and metabolic changes and any subsequent impact on gastrointestinal passage in this important human pathogen.  generation and confirmation of the hns::npti mutant a 695-bp fragment that includes the hns structural gene and upstream regulatory region was amplified by pcr from genomic dna of e. coli o157:h atcc the nucleotide sequence of the ecori-bamhi fragment was determined and was identical to the sequenced gene in e. coli o157:h edl. transconjugants resulting from the conjugation of psc from e. coli sm λpir to e. coli o157:h strain atcc were kanamycin resistant, ampicillin sensitive, sucrose positive, and o positive. confirmation of a double crossover in which wild-type hns was replaced with hns::npti was confirmed by pcr. pcr analysis of genomic dna from the parental strain with primers choi and choi generated a 375-bp fragment; whereas, genomic dna from the hns::npti mutant resulted in a dna fragment approximately -kb in length. the -kb fragment is in agreement with the projected size of the dna fragment containing wild-type hns and the npti gene. growth and serological characteristics the growth of the hns mutant in lb at 37°c was slower and reached a lower maximum optical density than the parent strain or frik47001p containing psc. the doubling times of the parent, complemented, and mutant strains were and minutes, respectively. the maximum od nm achieved by the parent and complemented strains was to after h of incubation while the hns mutant reached a maximum od nm =. similar to the results in lb, the growth of the hns mutant in lb supplemented with mucin or in fecal slurries was slower and reached a lower final density than the parent strain. in addition, the colony size of the hns mutant on agar media was smaller than the parent and complemented strains. the presence of kanamycin in the growth media did not influence the growth of the mutant. these results are in agreement with results with hns mutants of non-pathogenic e. coli which had greater doubling times than the parent strains. one contributor to the longer doubling time is the increased σs level in the hns mutant, which is partially suppressed in hns rpos double mutants. the hns mutant tested negative for the h antigen and was non-motile in motility medium; however, the o antigen was still detected. the absence of h is consistent with previous data showing that h-ns is involved in the control of flagella gene expression and that hns mutants are non-motile. growth inhibition by ph, nacl, and bile in addition to slower growth, the hns mutant was more susceptible to inhibition by low ph, nacl, bile and cefixime compared to the parent and complemented strains. low temperature further slows the growth of hns mutants. thus, the growth of the mutant was further restricted when low temperature was combined with another inhibitor. the minimum growth ph of the hns mutant at the different temperatures was to which was to ph unit higher than the parent and complemented strains with the greatest difference observed at the lowest incubation temperature. both the parent and complemented strains grew at ph at each incubation temperature. similar to the results with ph, the hns mutant grew in lb supplemented with a maximum of 4–6% nacl compared to 6–7% for the parent and complemented strains. the test strains tolerated the highest concentration of nacl when incubated at 25°c. there was one exception in which the hns mutant complemented with psc grew in a maximum of 4% nacl at °c which was equivalent to the maximum level tolerated by the hns mutant. it is unclear why the complemented strain differed from the parent strain in this case where in all other growth conditions the results were the same. an unexpected finding was the ability of the e. coli o157:h to grow in lb containing bile compounds at 14–15%. the hns mutant was significantly more sensitive to bile salts and bovine bile preparations and grew in the presence of a maximum of % and % of these compounds, respectively. the growth of the strains in the presence of bile was further studied in lb containing 5% bile salts. although the hns mutant grew, it had a greatly extended lag period in comparison to the parent and complemented strains. acid tolerance the acid tolerance of the parent, hns mutant, and complemented strains was tested using both log- and stationary-phase cells. the survival of log-phase cells of the hns mutant was significantly greater than the parent strain when challenged in synthetic gastric fluid. these findings are consistent with the derepression of σs -regulated genes in the absence of h-ns. stationary phase increased the acid tolerance compared to log phase in all three strains and the numbers decreased by less than log cfu/ml after h of acid challenge. however, the parent and hns-complemented strains exhibited similar acid tolerance that was significantly greater than the hns mutant. in contrast to the findings with acid challenges conducted in synthetic gastric fluid that is acidified with hydrochloric acid, there was no difference in the survival of the parent and hns mutant strains challenged in lb acidified with acetic or lactic acids. glutamate decarboxylase activity in an attempt to discern the reduced acid tolerance in stationary-phase cells of the hns mutant, glutamate decarboxylase activity was measured. the hns mutant had significantly less gad activity than the parent strain and strain frik47001p complemented with psc when examining stationary-phase cells. these findings provide one possible explanation for the reduced acid tolerance in comparison to the parent strain of the hns mutant in stationary phase. sole carbon and nitrogen sources metabolic characterization using phenotype microarrays showed that the hns mutant was incapable of utilizing carbon and nitrogen sources that the parent strain metabolized. the ability of the hns mutant to uptake and/or use a variety of substrates as sole carbon sources was significantly altered. the parent strain was able to use six amino acids as sole carbon sources that the hns mutant was unable to utilize. the mutant did not use several disaccharides and trehalose, dulcitol, d-ribose, and dextrin. in addition, eight organic acids, including pyruvate, were not used as a sole carbon sources by the hns mutant. h-ns is involved in the regulation of genes associated with carbohydrate metabolism, like the maltose operon, but there were no carbon sources that were metabolized by the mutant that were not utilized by the parent strain. the parent strain metabolized six amino acids as sole nitrogen sources that the hns mutant was unable to use; however, the mutant was capable of using several dipeptides. nitrite was one nitrogen source that was utilized by the hns mutant but not the parent strain. the findings from this metabolic characterization greatly expand the role of h-ns as a regulator of carbon and nitrogen metabolism in e. coli. gastrointestinal passage testing of fecal samples prior to inoculation determined that mice were e. coli o157:h negative and that few bacteria grew on the selective agar that were similar to the inoculation strain. the administration of the parent strain, hns mutant, and hns mutant complemented with psc did not result in signs of illness in icr mice. although mice were tested for days post inoculation, all mice that shed the inoculated e. coli o157:h strain tested positive one day after inoculation and some mice continued to shed the strain at day no fecal samples tested positive at day the results from three trials are shown in table the parent strain was recovered from a total of mice of inoculated with log-phase cells while only a single mouse receiving the hns mutant tested positive at a dose of cfu. the results between the parent and hns mutant were statistically different at a dose of similar results were obtained with stationary-phase cells of the parent strain, which was detected in a total of of mice inoculated. the passage of the hns mutant was not improved when stationary-phase cells were administered, and the feces from only mouse of inoculated tested positive. at doses of and cfu, the results with stationary-phase cells of the parent strain were statistically different from those obtained with the hns mutant. the passage of the hns mutant complemented with a functional hns in psc was similar to that of the parent strain. the diminished passage of the hns mutant was further demonstrated when the percent of the dose surviving passage through the mouse was calculated. approximately, % of the parent strain and % of the hns mutant complemented with psc were recovered in feces compared to only % of the hns mutant that was determined from the few fecal samples that harbored the mutant. these results demonstrate that h-ns significantly impacts gastrointestinal passage in mice. discussion e. coli o157:h must respond to changing environmental conditions whether it is present in the gastrointestinal tract or the environment. metabolic pathways must be carefully controlled and stress-protection systems triggered in a timely manner to effectively compete and survive. h-ns is a major component of the bacterial nucleoid, having pleiotropic effects on gene expression, genome stability and dna recombination. h-ns is involved in the control of several genes in e. coli associated with the metabolism of specific substrates as well as stress protection; such as lrp, σs, and two-component systems. thus, h-ns is a master regulator affecting the expression of individual genes and regulons with several of the phenotypes observed in hns mutants occurring as a result of indirect effects on gene expression. in our studies of an hns mutant of e. coli o157:h the growth was slower than the parent strain. although it is not completely understood, the increased doubling time in hns mutants is partially related to the increased level of σs and the possibility of secondary site mutations that affect growth. h-ns negatively influences the level of σs at the posttranscriptional level, and the level of σs increases in log-phase cells of hns mutants. another factor that contributes to the level of σs in hns mutants is the increase in the heat-shock chaperone dnak which enhances σs stability. the increase in σs results in the production of σs-regulated proteins some of which are involved in stress protection. results from this study using phenotypic microarrays showed that h-ns has a significant impact on carbon and nitrogen metabolism that likely impact the growth of the mutant. among the substrates that were not metabolized were several carbon and nitrogen sources, including several key metabolic intermediates that likely influence growth and energy generation. it is probable that the slower growth of the hns mutant is a result of the combined effects of the increased level of σs and altered substrate metabolism. however, another possibility that cannot be excluded is the generation of a second site mutation that influenced growth. the growth of the hns mutant was also more susceptible to inhibition by nacl and bile salts than the parent strain. these differences were accentuated by sub-optimal growth temperature, often encountered when outside of the intestinal tract. a significant finding from these growth comparisons was the high tolerance of the parent e. coli o157:h strain to bile and bile salts, while the growth of the hns mutant was limited to a maximum of and %, respectively. bile salts are produced by the liver to breakdown fat and are deleterious to biological membranes. e. coli must tolerate bile salts that can reach concentrations of mm in the duodenum and even higher in the small intestine. the reduced capacity of the mutant to tolerate bile salts might be a consequence of membrane changes in the hns mutant. h-ns is known to influence expression of at least 5% of the genes in e. coli, many that encode for membrane proteins. the possibility of an altered membrane is supported by the inhibition of the mutant by the cephalosporin-like antibiotic, cefixime, while the parent strain grew in media containing μg cefixime/ml. future studies with h-ns-deficient strains should be useful in identifying the proteins involved in bile tolerance in e. coli o157:h strains. acid tolerance is one characteristic that influences the persistence of e. coli o157:h shedding in cattle and may promote survival during gastric passage in humans. the increased acid tolerance of the hns mutant in comparison to the parent strain in log-phase cells is consistent with the expression of σs-regulated proteins. in stationary-phase cells, the acid tolerance increased in all three strains in comparison to log-phase cells. however, the hns mutant was less acid tolerant than the parent strain in stationary phase. the gad system comprised of gada and gadb, two isoforms of glutamate decarboxylase, and gadc that encodes for a glutamate/γ-aminobutyrate antiporter is one contributor to acid tolerance. results from the phenotype microarrays showed that the hns mutant did not utilize glutamate as a sole carbon source; therefore, we compared glutamate decarboxylase activity in stationary-phase cells of the mutant and parent strains. the specific activity of glutamate decarboxylase was reduced in the hns mutant compared to the parent strain. the decreased specific acitivity of glutamate decarboxylase may explain the difference in acid tolerance between the hns mutant and parent strain in stationary-phase cells. in mouse passage studies, recovery of the hns mutant was significantly less than the parent strain. the mutant was recovered from a single mouse in each of three trials conducted with log-phase and stationary-phase cells. it is possible that the reduced ability of the hns mutant to survive mouse passage is a consequence of a depleted energy supply, resulting from its limited capacity to metabolize available substrates, which is necessary for the optimal functioning of homeostasis or stress protection systems. gene expression profiles of mucus-grown e. coli have identified genes involved in the catabolism of gluconate, n-acetylglucosamine, sialic acid, glucuronate, mannose, fucose, and ribose are induced and considered preferred carbon sources. mutants incapable of metabolizing these seven carbohydrates have a decreased capacity to colonize streptomycin-treated mice. although the mouse passage assay employed in this study did not evaluate colonization, the results from phenotype microarrays found that five of the seven carbohydrates identified by chang et al. as preferred carbon sources were utilized by the hns mutant while the e. coli o157:h parent strain used all seven carbon sources. in addition, the hns mutant grew in mucin-supplemented lb broth and fecal slurries to a concentration essentially equivalent to that of the parent strain although the lag-phase was longer and the growth rate slower than that of the parent strain which is similar to the results obtained in growth studies conducted in lb. therefore, a defect in the ability to utilize a mucin carbohydrate is probably not the reason for the reduced passage of the hns mutant. there are a number of possible antimicrobial factors in the gastrointestinal tract that may be responsible for the diminished capacity of the hns mutant to survive passage through icr mice. acetate can reach a concentration of mm in the intestinal tract. although log-phase cells of the mutant were more acid tolerant in challenges conducted with hydrochloric acid, additional challenges were conducted with acetic and lactic acids because results from phenotype microarrays found that the mutant did not utilize acetate or lactate as sole carbon sources. it was reasoned that tolerance to these acids might be impaired, but acid challenges with lactic acid and acetic acid at ph found no difference in the survival of the parent and hns mutant strains with log- or stationary-phase cells. another possibility is that bile salts may have affected passage of the hns mutant through mice. in addition to being inhibitory, bile in association with h-ns is known to repress virulence genes. however, additional experiments are needed with bile-sensitive mutants and measurements of bile acid concentrations in the mouse intestinal tract to confirm that bile was responsible for the reduced recoveries of the hns mutant. considering that the intestinal tract contains at least bacterial species, it is also possible that one of the commensal microbes produces an antimicrobial factor that is detrimental to the hns mutant. studies with gnotoxenic mice would be particularly valuable in addressing the contributions of competing flora on the survival of the hns mutant. based upon the results from this study, the most plausible explanation for the reduced passage of the hns mutant through mice is the regulatory impairments that influence growth and stress protection.  results from this study significantly expand the importance of h-ns in carbon and nitrogen metabolism as well as stress tolerance that collectively influence the ability of e. coli o157:h to respond to changing conditions it encounters in its host and the environment. this is the first report of the high tolerance of e. coli o157:h strains to bile and bile salts that may be of significance in localization and persistence within its bovine host and possibly during human infection. studies are in progress to identify, which proteins that are influenced by h-ns contribute to bile tolerance. the results from this study also establish h-ns as a potential target for control of this important human pathogen. 
growth studies determined that the parent strain grew in lb containing to 15% bile or bile salts, while the hns mutant grew in and 9% of these compounds, respectively. these results demonstrate that h-ns is a powerful regulator of carbon and nitrogen metabolism as well as tolerance to bile salts. conversely, log-phase cells of the hns mutant were significantly more acid tolerant than the parent strain and hns mutant complemented with psc in mouse passage studies, the parent strain was recovered at a higher frequency than the hns mutant regardless of whether log- or stationary-phase phase cells were orally administered. collectively, these results expand the influence of h-ns on carbon and nitrogen metabolism and highlight its role in the ability of o157:h strains to respond to changing nutrients and conditions encountered in the environment and its hosts. among the non-metabolized substrates were several amino acids, organic acids, and key metabolic intermediates that limit carbon acquisition and energy generation. to determine the significance of h-ns-regulated genes in metabolism and stress tolerance, an hns mutant of e. coli o157:h was generated and its growth, metabolism, and gastrointestinal passage compared to the parent strain and strain frik47001p harboring psc which contains a functional hns and 90-bp upstream of the open-reading frame. the hns mutant grew slower and was non-motile in comparison to the parent strain. carbon and nitrogen metabolism was significantly altered in the hns mutant, which was incapable of utilizing carbon, and nitrogen sources that the parent strain metabolized. it is likely that the metabolic impairments and/or the reduced bile tolerance of the e. coli o157:h hns mutant decreased its ability to survive passage through mice. h-ns is a dna-binding protein with central roles in gene regulation and nucleoid structuring in escherichia coli.
 h-ns is a dna-binding protein with central roles in gene regulation and nucleoid structuring in escherichia coli. there are over genes that are influenced by h-ns many of which are involved in metabolism. to determine the significance of h-ns-regulated genes in metabolism and stress tolerance, an hns mutant of e. coli o157:h was generated and its growth, metabolism, and gastrointestinal passage compared to the parent strain and strain frik47001p harboring psc which contains a functional hns and 90-bp upstream of the open-reading frame.  the hns mutant grew slower and was non-motile in comparison to the parent strain. carbon and nitrogen metabolism was significantly altered in the hns mutant, which was incapable of utilizing carbon, and nitrogen sources that the parent strain metabolized. among the non-metabolized substrates were several amino acids, organic acids, and key metabolic intermediates that limit carbon acquisition and energy generation. growth studies determined that the parent strain grew in lb containing to 15% bile or bile salts, while the hns mutant grew in and 9% of these compounds, respectively. conversely, log-phase cells of the hns mutant were significantly more acid tolerant than the parent strain and hns mutant complemented with psc in mouse passage studies, the parent strain was recovered at a higher frequency than the hns mutant regardless of whether log- or stationary-phase phase cells were orally administered.  these results demonstrate that h-ns is a powerful regulator of carbon and nitrogen metabolism as well as tolerance to bile salts. it is likely that the metabolic impairments and/or the reduced bile tolerance of the e. coli o157:h hns mutant decreased its ability to survive passage through mice. collectively, these results expand the influence of h-ns on carbon and nitrogen metabolism and highlight its role in the ability of o157:h strains to respond to changing nutrients and conditions encountered in the environment and its hosts. 