Poster Presentation: Mining the Escherichia coli pangenome for lineage-specific metabolism

Abstract

Escherichia coli is a diverse species spanning both common commensals of humans and animals and clinically important, major global pathogens. The metabolic capabilities of certain phenotypic groups can influence traits including colonisation, virulence and pathogenicity, but the extent to which these traits vary across lineages is unknown. To assess this, 20,577 genomes were used to construct pangenomes for 21 distinct E. coli sequence types. Core metabolic networks were subsequently built for each lineage. Using these reconstructions, we uncovered huge, lineage-specific differences in the core metabolic profiles. We have identified a set of metabolic reactions that are uniquely present in each lineage, and a set that are uniquely absent, highlighting key genes of interest in the search for adaptations that are lineage- and environment-specific. Our results suggest that that variation in metabolic functions, deemed essential for the success of a lineage, will be key in future research to manipulate the abilities of specific E. coli lineages in their relevant environments.

Elizabeth A. Cummins

Postdoctoral Researcher

My research interests include microbial genomics, pangenomes and AMR.