Genetic diversity and population structure ofEscherichia coliisolated from freshwater beaches
Open Access
- 5 June 2007
- journal article
- Published by Wiley in Environmental Microbiology
- Vol. 9 (9), 2274-2288
- https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1462-2920.2007.01341.x
Abstract
Escherichia coli is an important member of the gastrointestinal tract of humans and warm-blooded animals (primary habitat). In the external environment outside the host (secondary habitat), it is often considered to be only a transient member of the microbiota found in water and soil, although recent evidence suggests that some strains can persist in temperate soils and freshwater beaches. Here we quantified the population genetic structure of E. coli from a longitudinal collection of environmental strains isolated from six freshwater beaches along Lake Huron and the St. Clair River in Michigan. Multilocus enzyme electrophoresis (MLEE) and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) revealed extensive genetic diversity among 185 E. coli isolates with an average of 40 alleles per locus. Despite evidence for extensive recombination generating new alleles and genotypic diversity, several genotypes marked by distinct MLEE and MLST profiles were repeatedly recovered from separate sites at different times. A PCR-based phylogrouping technique showed that the persistent, naturalized E. coli belonged to the B1 group. These results support the hypothesis that persistent genotypes have an adaptive advantage in the secondary habitat outside the host.Keywords
This publication has 90 references indexed in Scilit:
- Adherent and InvasiveEscherichia coliIs Associated with Granulomatous Colitis in Boxer DogsInfection and Immunity, 2006
- Comparison of Virulence Gene Profiles of Escherichia coli Strains Isolated from Healthy and Diarrheic SwineApplied and Environmental Microbiology, 2006
- Development of Goose- and Duck-Specific DNA Markers To Determine Sources of Escherichia coli in WaterwaysApplied and Environmental Microbiology, 2006
- Sex and virulence in Escherichia coli: an evolutionary perspectiveMolecular Microbiology, 2006
- Application of Phylogenetic Networks in Evolutionary StudiesMolecular Biology and Evolution, 2005
- Statistical Analyses: Possible Reasons for Unreliability of Source Tracking EffortsApplied and Environmental Microbiology, 2005
- Neighbor-Net: An Agglomerative Method for the Construction of Phylogenetic NetworksMolecular Biology and Evolution, 2003
- Escherichia coli in Infants' Intestinal Microflora: Colonization Rate, Strain Turnover, and Virulence Gene CarriagePediatric Research, 2003
- How clonal are bacteria?Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 1993
- Electrophoretic Variation in Escherichia coli from Natural SourcesScience, 1973