STEC and commensal Escherichia coli in vitro infection transcriptomes

This study utilized RNA-Seq for comparative transcriptomic experiments including two STEC and one commensal E. coli strain in in vitro colonic intestinal epithelial cell infections. Biochemical pathways and genes regulated similarly in the STEC strains, but in contrast to the commensal strain, were identified. Additionally, the RNA-Seq results demonstrated the regulation of known STEC virulence genes at the onset of infection and allowed identification of hypothetical genes likely representing novel virulence genes.