News from the Benches: AIEC Genomics

The lab has reported new genomic data on adherent-invasive E. coli (AIEC) that are associated with Crohn’s Disease. In the first paper, we sequenced and closed the genome of a clinical isolate of AIEC, called NRG857c (serotype O83:H1). This work will enable more genetic understanding of this E. coli pathotype and its potential role in chronic human disease. This work was done in collaboration with the Public Health Agency of Canada and funded, in part, by the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of Canada and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

The second paper describes work to characterize E. coli isolated from biopsies of newly diagnosed patients with inflammatory bowel disease. This work was done in collaboration with the Department of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases at the University of Manitoba.