Use of Deoxyribose by Intestinal and Extraintestinal Pathogenic Escherichia coli Strains: a Metabolic Adaptation Involved in Competitiveness

We showed that the deoK operon, which confers the ability to use deoxyribose as a carbon source, is more common among pathogenic than commensal Escherichia coli strains. The expression of the deoK operon increases the competitiveness of clinical isolates, suggesting that this biochemical characteristic plays a role in host infectivity.