Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41918017›Full record

ArticleGenome medicine2026

Global survey of extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli identifies stable serogroup-virulence-resistance linkages.

Mengjie Li, Xiao Liu, Ruiting Lan, Yanwen Xiong, Yanqing Che, Yixin Mao, Hongzhou Li, Guodong Yan, He Gao, Xuemei Bai and 3 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Genome medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Mengjie LiSchool of Public Health, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, 730000, China.
Xiao LiuNational Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, 102206, China.
Ruiting LanSchool of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia.
Yanwen XiongNational Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, 102206, China.
Yanqing CheSchool of Public Health, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, 730000, China.
Yixin MaoNational Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, 102206, China.
Hongzhou LiSchool of Public Health, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, 730000, China.
Guodong YanNational Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, 102206, China.
He GaoNational Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, 102206, China.
Xuemei BaiNational Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, 102206, China.
Zhiwen SunNational Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, 102206, China.
Xiaoning LiuSchool of Public Health, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, 730000, China. liuxn@lzu.edu.cn.
Duochun WangNational Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, 102206, China. wangduochun@icdc.cn.

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation 32570220
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundExtraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (ExPEC) is a leading cause of urinary tract infections, sepsis, and neonatal meningitis globally. However, global patterns linking O-serogroups, sequence types (STs), virulence, and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) remain poorly resolved.

methodsWe analyzed 12,220 ExPEC genomes, including 12,160 publicly available genomes retrieved from the NCBI database and 60 representative isolates collected and sequenced in this study. Serogroups were assigned by in silico wzm/wzt/wzx/wzy and fliC gene analysis, and phylogenies constructed using maximum likelihood methods. Virulence and antibiotic resistance genes were annotated with the Virulence Factor Database and the Comprehensive Antibiotic Resistance Database. A set of ExPEC isolates collected from China was tested phenotypically for motility, iron acquisition and growth assays under standardized conditions.

resultsWe identified 199 O-serogroups from the 12,220 genomes, with 17 dominant types accounting for 83% of isolates. O25 (30.75%) was globally prevalent, while O101 was more prevalent than O25 in China and India. Most of the isolates were from urine (44.49%) and blood (26.80%) as primary sources. Phylogenetic analysis revealed 52 clusters with stable serogroup-ST associations (e.g., O25-ST131, O2/O6-ST73). Virulence analysis uncovered 383 genes, with a conserved 24-gene core encoding adhesion and iron uptake genes. Resistance profiling revealed 308 genes, dominated by β-lactamases and efflux regulators. Integrated analysis identified iron acquisition (Vir_2) and efflux-mediated resistance (Res_5) as key genomic traits of high-risk serogroups, supported by phenotypic assays showing correlated motility and iron uptake patterns.

conclusionsWe propose a genomic survey that integrates serogroup profiling with virulence-resistance gene-content clusters to resolve ExPEC population structure and functional convergence. These insights may guide the rational development of next-generation ExPEC vaccines and precision surveillance strategies.

Indexed as

Drug Resistance, BacterialEscherichia coli InfectionsExtraintestinal Pathogenic Escherichia coliSerogroupGenome, BacterialHumansPhylogenyVirulenceVirulence FactorsVirulence FactorsExtraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coliO-serogroup; Phylogenomic analysisResistanceVaccine strategyVirulence

Identifiers

PMID41918017
PMCPMC13169692

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.