Genomic diversity of Escherichia coli

The genomic contents of 10 clinical bloodstream infection-associated E. coli strains, isolated at the Leicester Royal Infirmary were investigated in this study. Approaches used to investigate the genomic contents of these strains were: sequential PCR strategy, and the Microarray-Assisted mobilome Prospecting (MAmP). The study proved that such strategies are successful in addressing and identifying mobilome-rich strains. Therefore, using such approaches in combination with whole genome sequencing projects could prioritize the strains and the genomic regions that need to be sequenced. Such prioritization would avoid sequencing of hundreds of isolates to identify their novel gene pool and would reduce the cost of genomic sequencing. Moreover, applying such approaches for the identification of new virulence genes and/or pathogenic mechanisms could lead to significant improvements in the treatment of E. coli infections.