Subtypes of NanS-p Sialate O-Acetylesterase Encoded by Stx2a Bacteriophages

Shiga toxin (Stx)-producing Escherichia coli strains are foodborne pathogens that can cause severe human diseases, such as haemorrhagic colitis and haemolytic uraemic syndrome. Stxs are encoded by bacteriophages (Stx phages) which show remarkable variations in genome composition and harbour several genes of unknown function. Recently, a gene encoding a sialate O-acetylesterase (NanS-p) was identified in some relevant Stx2a phages and it was suggested that it could provide advantages for bacterial growth in the gut. The aim of this study was to analyse the presence and sequence of nanS-p genes in available Stx2a phage genomes. A total of 59 DNA sequences of Stx2a phages were extracted from the NCBI GenBank database with the BLAST program using the stx2a sequence from phage 933W as a query sequence, either as complete phage genomes (45) or from bacterial genomes by subsequent analysis with the PHASTER web server (14). Comparative analysis revealed that nanS-p was located downstream of stx2a in all genomes. Twenty different amino acid sequences of NanS-p were identified. Specifically, catalytic esterase domains showed only 11 possible sequences, with differences mainly observed in nine amino acid positions. Sequences corresponding to the N-terminal domain (DUF1737) showed three possible sequences, two of them closely related, while the C-terminal domain was highly variable, with four groups with structural differences. Since sialate O-acetylesterase activity has been determined from particular Stx2a phages, new studies are necessary to evaluate if the NanS-p subtypes identified in the present study also differ in their biological activity.