Aspects of genome plasticity in pathogenic Escherichia coli.
The species Escherichia coli comprises not only non-pathogenic or commensal variants that belong to the normal intestinal flora of most mammals, but also various pathogenic strains causing diverse intestinal and extraintestinal infections in man and animals. Virulence factors and mechanisms involved in pathogenesis have been successfully analyzed for many years resulting in a wealth of knowledge about many E. coli pathotypes. However, our knowledge on the genome content, diversity and variability between pathogenic and also non-pathogenic subtypes is only slowly accumulating. Pathotypes have been largely defined by the presence or absence of particular DNA segments that in most cases appear to have been acquired via horizontal gene transfer events. As these regions are frequently subjected to excisions, rearrangements, and transfers they contribute to the previously unexpected and underestimated rapid evolution of E. coli variants resulting in the development of novel strains and even pathotypes. In these studies various novel aspects of genome diversity and plasticity in extraintestinal and intestinal pathogenic E. coli pathotypes have been addressed and the results have been directly applied for the improvement of diagnostic methods.
Bielaszewska
Martina
M
Institut für Hygiene, Universitätsklinikum Münster, Robert-Koch-Str. 41, D-48149 Münster, Germany.
Dobrindt
Ulrich
U
Gärtner
Julia
J
Gallitz
Inka
I
Hacker
Jörg
J
Karch
Helge
H
Müller
Daniel
D
Schubert
Sören
S
Alexander Schmidt
M
M
Sorsa
Liisa Johanna
LJ
Zdziarski
Jaroslaw
J
D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics* / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D014644:Genetic Variation; D016680:Genome, Bacterial; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis / Q000379:methods*; D014774:Virulence / Q000235:genetics; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000032:analysis* / Q000235:genetics
D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D037521:Virulence Factors