Abstract: SummaryPathogenic Escherichia coli cause over 160 million cases of dysentery and one million deaths per year, whereas non‐pathogenic E. coli constitute part of the normal intestinal flora of healthy mammals and birds. The evolutionary pathways underlying this dichotomy in bacterial lifestyle were investigated by multilocus sequence typing of a global collection of isolates. Specific pathogen types [enterohaemorrhagic E. coli, enteropathogenic E. coli, enteroinvasive E. coli, K1 and Shigella] have arisen independently and repeatedly in several...
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Topics: 
Genetics
Microbiology