Use of deoxyribose by intestinal and extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli strains: a metabolic adaptation involved in competitiveness

Lien vers Pubmed [PMID] – 15385522

Infect. Immun. 2004 Oct;72(10):6151-6

We showed that the deoK operon, which confers the ability to use deoxyribose as a carbon source, is more common among pathogenic than commensal Escherichia coli strains. The expression of the deoK operon increases the competitiveness of clinical isolates, suggesting that this biochemical characteristic plays a role in host infectivity.