Modelling metabolic capability and phylogeny of host and environmental niche adaptation in E. coli

The species Escherichia coli is a complex group of organisms which is found in a wide range of vertebrate animal hosts. The ability to colonise a given host is critical for E. coli and will require a different strategies, thus allowing for the evolution of separate lineages adapted to specific hosts. However, the high genetic diversity of E. coli means that detection of this niche adaptation is difficult. Given that there are multiple genotypic pathways to the same phenotypic endpoint, adaptation of E. coli to different host species may be more clearly observed by examination of phenotypes or metabolic pathways.
This multidisciplinary project will define the variation in E. coli from different host species through genomic and phenotypic analysis. A new understanding of bacterial niche adaptation and novel computational tools will be developed.