Projects per year
Abstract
The human zoonotic pathogen Escherichia coli O157:H7 is defined by its extensive prophage repertoire including those that encode Shiga toxin, the factor responsible for inducing life-threatening pathology in humans. As well as introducing genes that can contribute to the virulence of a strain, prophage can enable the generation of large-chromosomal rearrangements (LCRs) by homologous recombination. This work examines the types and frequencies of LCRs across the major lineages of the O157:H7 serotype. We demonstrate that LCRs are a major source of genomic variation across all lineages of E. coli O157:H7 and by using both optical mapping and Oxford Nanopore long-read sequencing prove that LCRs are generated in laboratory cultures started from a single colony and that these variants can be recovered from colonized cattle. LCRs are biased towards the terminus region of the genome and are bounded by specific prophages that share large regions of sequence homology associated with the recombinational activity. RNA transcriptional profiling and phenotyping of specific structural variants indicated that important virulence phenotypes such as Shiga-toxin production, type-3 secretion and motility can be affected by LCRs. In summary, E. coli O157:H7 has acquired multiple prophage regions over time that act to continually produce structural variants of the genome. These findings raise important questions about the significance of this prophage-mediated genome contingency to enhance adaptability between environments.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 000682 |
Journal | Microbial Genomics |
Volume | 7 |
Issue number | 11 |
Early online date | 9 Nov 2021 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | First published - 9 Nov 2021 |
Keywords
- Cattle
- Duplication
- E. coli
- Genome structure
- Inversion
- O157:H7
- Optical mapping
- PFGE
- Prophage
- Shiga toxin
- Type 3 secretion
Fingerprint
Dive into the research topics of 'Genome structural variation in Escherichia coli O157:H7'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Projects
- 1 Finished
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E. coli O157 super-shedding in cattle and mitigation of human risk
Tongue, S.
1/01/14 → 28/02/18
Project: Research
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Bacteriological Survey of Fresh Minced Beef on Sale at Retail Outlets in Scotland in 2019: Three Foodborne Pathogens, Hygiene Process Indicators, and Phenotypic Antimicrobial Resistance
Bishop, H., Evans, J., Eze, JI., Webster, CA., Humphry, RW., Beattie, R., White, J., Couper, J., Allison, L., Brown, D. & Tongue, SC., 1 Sept 2022, In: Journal of Food Protection. 85, 9, p. 1370-1379 10 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile1 Citation (Scopus)42 Downloads (Pure) -
High prevalence and factors associated with the distribution of the integron intI1 and intI2 genes in Scottish cattle herds
Rivas, C. F., Porphyre, T., Chase-Topping, M. E., Knapp, C. W., Williamson, H., Barraud, O., Tongue, S. C., Silva, N., Currie, C., Elsby, D. T. & Hoyle, D. V., 29 Oct 2021, (First published) In: Frontiers in Veterinary Science. 8, 755833.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile2 Citations (Scopus)12 Downloads (Pure) -
Prevalence and Epidemiology of Non-O157 Escherichia coli Serogroups O26, O103, O111, and O145 and Shiga Toxin Gene Carriage in Scottish Cattle, 2014-2015
Hoyle, D. V., Keith, M., Williamson, H., Macleod, K., Mathie, H., Handel, I., Currie, C., Holmes, A., Allison, L. J., McLean, R., Callaby, R., Porphyre, T., Tongue, SC., Henry, MK., Evans, J., Gunn, GJ., Gally, D. L., Silva, N. & Chase-Topping, M. E., May 2021, In: Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 87, 10, p. 1-18 18 p., e03142-20.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile11 Citations (Scopus)41 Downloads (Pure)