Escherichia coli O111 Genome sequencing and assembly

The rise in foodborne-related outbreaks of non O157 shiga-toxin producing E. coli (STECs) emphasizes the importance of developing improved methods to rapidly detect and characterize STECs. O111 is a major serovars of STEC associated with foodborne infection and, in some cases, severe illness comparable to illness caused by E. coli O157:H7. Sequencing of STECs from the agriculturally important region of the California central coast will address the diversity of genomic content and physiology of STECs compared to E. coli O157.