Elisa Cappio Barazzone

Abstract Serotyping identifies bacterial variants based on surface antigens, traditionally using antibody-based assays, but has been increasingly replaced by in silico methods that infer serotypes from genomic sequences for faster, scalable and more reproducible analyses. However, traditional Escherichia coli capsule serotyping has largely fallen out of use since the 1990s, leaving gaps in our knowledge of capsule genetics, diversity, distribution and epidemiology.

Abstract Escherichia coli (E. coli) strains expressing the capsule serotype K1 (E. coli K1) are a prevalent cause of neonatal sepsis and meningitis. The gut microbiota of healthy adults is a natural reservoir of E. coli K1, from which it can spread to extra-intestinal sites or be transmitted from mother to infant during birth. Accordingly, shifting gut colonization from potentially pathogenic E. coli strains to more benign strains could reduce the risk of disease.