title: Use of deoxyribose by intestinal and extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli strains: a metabolic adaptation involved in competitiveness.
abstract: We showed that the deoK operon, which confers the ability to use deoxyribose as a carbon source, is more common among pathogenic than commensal Escherichia coli strains. The expression of the deoK operon increases the competitiveness of clinical isolates, suggesting that this biochemical characteristic plays a role in host infectivity.
authors.affiliation: Unité de Pathogénie Bactérienne des Muqueuses, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bernier-Fébreau
authors.forename: Laurence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: du Merle
authors.forename: Evelyne
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Turlin
authors.forename: Valérie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Labas
authors.forename: Juana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ordonez
authors.forename: Anne-Marie
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Gilles
authors.forename: Chantal
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Le Bouguénec
mesh_terms: D017124:Conserved Sequence; D003855:Deoxyribose / Q000378:metabolism*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D004927:Escherichia coli Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D007422:Intestines / Q000382:microbiology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009876:Operon / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D003855:Deoxyribose