Analysis of genome plasticity of Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 upon long-term serial passage in Tribolium castaneum larvae

We used a long-term serial passage approach and orally introduced E. coli Nissle 1917 to larvae of the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum. After eight cycles of oral uptake, larval midgut colonization for 48 h and 96 h, respectively and re-isolation from larvae, different lineages the E. coli Nissle 1917 re-isolates were subjected to whole genome sequence analysis and comparison with the E. coli Nissle 1917 reference genome.