Escherichia coli strain:B511_M12_01 Genome sequencing and assembly. Escherichia coli strain:B511_M12_01

Microbes that live in the human gastrointestinal tract play key roles in the metabolism of nutrients, uptake of vitamins and harvest of energy for their host. Disruption or imbalance of this microbial community may contribute to disease by reducing the community’s ability to aid nutrient absorption and promote health. This project is studying a particular microbe from this community, E. coli, which has been found to be overly abundant in the gastrointestinal tract of infants and young children with the genetic disease cystic fibrosis (CF). One manifestation of CF is poor nutrient absorption, including fat malabsorption, which leads to malnutrition and growth failure. Notably, strains of E. coli isolated from the gastrointestinal tract of young children with CF grow better with the sugar, glycerol, derived from fats as the primary food source than strains of E. coli isolated from that of healthy children. This project aims to determine if abundant E. coli isolated from the gastrointestinal tract of infants less than 1 year of age with CF are correlated with growth stunting in these children. The study will also determine the mechanism by which these bacteria grow better on the sugar glycerol as their primary food source.. This knowledge with help to inform the development of therapies aimed at providing better nutritional outcomes in these and other children with CF who have poor early growth.