A2 Origin and evolution of heteropathogenic Escherichia coli
| PI: | Prof. Dr. Alexander Mellmann |
| Research Group: | Hospital and Environmental Hygiene, Institute for Hygiene |
| Co-PI: | Prof. Dr. Joachim Kurtz |
| Doctoral student: | Imke Johanna Temme |
Escherichia coli are harmless commensals of the human intestinal flora but they can also acquire virulence traits and emerge as pathogens, which are frequently corroborated by the fact that for example diarrheagenic and uropathogenic E. coli differ phylogenetically and by virulence profiles. Recently, we found heteropathogenic E. coli that not only possess and express virulence factors associated with diarrheagenic and uropathogenic E. coli but also cause diarrhoea and urinary tract infections thereby questioning the linear descent from a non-pathogen to a pathogen. Therefore, we would like to focus in the proposed project on the evolutionary origin of this heteropathogen.
