Sex and virulence in Escherichia coli : an evolutionary perspective
University of Konstanz · Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology · +8 more institutions
Abstract
Pathogenic Escherichia coli cause over 160 million cases of dysentery and one million deaths per year, whereas non-pathogenic E. coli constitute part of the normal intestinal flora of healthy mammals and birds. The evolutionary pathways underlying this dichotomy in bacterial lifestyle were investigated by multilocus sequence typing of a global collection of isolates. Specific pathogen types [enterohaemorrhagic E. coli, enteropathogenic E. coli, enteroinvasive E. coli, K1 and Shigella] have arisen independently and repeatedly in several lineages, whereas other lineages contain only few pathogens. Rates of evolution have accelerated in pathogenic lineages, culminating in highly virulent organisms whose genomic…
Citation impact
- FWCI
- 31.68
- Percentile
- 100%
- References
- 67
Authors
11- TWThierry WirthCorresponding
University of Konstanz, Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics
- DFDaniel Falush
Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology
- RLRuiting Lan
UNSW Sydney
- FMFrances M. Colles
University of Oxford, Medawar Building for Pathogen Research
- PMPatience Mensa
University of Oxford, Medawar Building for Pathogen Research
Topics & keywords
- Biology
- Virulence
- Pathogenic Escherichia coli
- Genetics
- Shigella
- Escherichia coli
- Microbiology
- Genome
- Good health and well-being