Human-specific pathogen that causes endemic dysentery. Shigella flexneri 2a str. 2457T

Shigella flexneri 2a str. 2457T. This is a highly virulent strain that has been widely used for genetic and clinical research. It is similar to pathogenic Escherichia coli except for the more numerous insertion sequences and contains 4 plasmids pINV-2457T, pSf2, and pSf4, and pSf-R27. Plasmid pINV-2457T is similar to plasmids pWR100, pWR501, and pCP301 whereas plasmid pSf-R27 is similar to R27. Plasmids pSf2 and pSf4 are small ColE1-like plasmids. pSf2 is similar to plasmid p2457TS2 found in RefSeq Accession Number NC_002773.