Genomic investigation of Verocytoxigenic Escherichia coli (360G-Wellcome-211559_Z_18_Z)

Verocytoxigenic Escherichia coli (VTEC) is defined by the elaboration of a potent cytotoxin. It is a highly pathogenic type of E.coli and causes a range of disorders including bloody diarrhoea, haemolytic uraemic syndrome, kidney disease and death. The project aims to investigate the genomic features associated with the unusually high incidence of this pathogen in Ireland. We will apply state-of-the-art bioinformatics approaches to determine which genes are most commonly found to co-occur outside the core genome. This will be carried out across three separate cohorts of strains. The modules created will be analysed for potential functions and subject to machine learning techniques to identify those associated with the Irish strains specifically and the clinical phenotype.