Phylogenetic comparisons reveal multiple acquisitions of the toxin genes by enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli strains of different evolutionary lineages.

ABSTRACT: Escherichia coli is a diverse bacterial species which is widely distributed in the environment but also exists as a commensal and pathogen of different host species. Human intestinal pathogenic E. coli causes over 160 million cases of diarrhea and an estimated 1 million deaths per year. The majority of deaths are attributable to one pathovar of E. coli, namely, enterotoxigenic E. coli. The pathogenesis of enterotoxigenic E. coli is dependent on the production of a colonization factor to promote adhesion to the intestinal epithelium and the elaboration of heat-labile or heat-stable toxins which induce a secretory diarrhea. Despite the high morbidity and mortality associated with enterotoxigenic E. coli infection, little is known of the genetic background of this global pathogen. Here we dem

SUBMITTER: Turner SM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1698409 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature