Nguyen Thi Khanh Nhu, M Arifur Rahman, Kelvin G K Goh, Seung Jae Kim, Minh-Duy Phan, Kate M Peters, Laura Alvarez-Fraga, Steven J Hancock, Chitra Ravi, Timothy J Kidd, Matthew J Sullivan, Katharine M Irvine, Scott A Beatson, Matthew J Sweet, Adam D Irwin, Jana Vukovic, Glen C Ulett, Sumaira Z Hasnain, Mark A Schembri
Bacteria adapt to selective pressure in their immediate environment in multiple ways. One mechanism involves the acquisition of independent mutations that disable or modify a key pathway, providing a signature of adaptation via convergent evolution. Extra-intestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (ExPEC) belonging to sequence type 95 (ST95) represent a global clone frequently associated with severe human infections including acute pyelonephritis, sepsis, and neonatal meningitis. Here, we analysed a publicly available dataset of 613 ST95 genomes and identified a series of loss-of-function mutations that disrupt cellulose production or its modification in 55...
February 21, 2024: Nature Communications