The emergence of the tetrathionate reductase operon in the Escherichia coli/Shigella pan-genome.

ABSTRACT: Escherichia coli pathogenic variants (pathovars) are generally characterized by defined virulence traits and are susceptible to the evolution of hybridized identities due to the considerable plasticity of the E. coli genome. We have isolated a strain from a purified diet intended for research animals that further demonstrates the ability of E. coli to acquire novel genetic elements leading potentially to emergent new pathovars. Utilizing next generation sequencing to obtain a whole genome profile, we report an atypical strain of E. coli, EcoFA807-17, possessing a tetrathionate reductase (ttr) operon, which enables the utilization of tetrathionate as an electron acceptor, thus facilitating respiration in anaerobic environments such as the mammalian gut. The ttr operon is a potent virulence

SUBMITTER: Adsit FG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9638481 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature