Astrid von Mentzer, Gordon Dougan and colleagues report the whole-genome sequencing of a representative global collection of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC), a major cause of infectious diarrhea, including samples from 20 countries isolated between 1980 and 2011. They find that, although ETEC isolates are widely distributed across the E. coli species and are genetically diverse, there are several discrete lineages that have contributed to overlapping global epidemics.
- Astrid von Mentzer
- Thomas R Connor
- Gordon Dougan
