"Sensory perception in bacteria as a route to targeted anti-infectives - the example of E. coli mastitis."

Escherichia coli has long been considered a simple “model” bacterium which has been the workhorse for many advances in understanding of biological systems. Far from being a simple organism, E. coli shows vast adaptability and diversity which allows occupation of many different niches.
Although most E. coli are harmless, commensal organisms the species includes significant pathogenic strains which can affect human and/or animal populations, thus impacting public health and food security. Ongoing work is focussing on E. coli strains from dairy cow mastitis. Given the significance of E. coli mastitis to the dairy industry, this has been a major focus for animal health and agriculture over many decades yet incidence remains high and options for control depend on vaccines and antibiotics, neither of which are reliable.
For many years, the dogma has been that “any” E. coli can cause mastitis. To test this, we conducted an extensive genomic survey of E. coli to define genome content of mammary-pathogenic E. coli (MPEC) that distinguish these strains from other E. coli. This has identified that environmental sensing and adaptation systems (rather than virulence factors) are critical determinants of the MPEC phenotype. Genomics and related functional studies will be summarised and options for development towards disease control measures will be considered.