A role for ColV plasmids in the evolution of pathogenic Escherichia coli ST58

Escherichia coli ST58 has recently emerged as a globally disseminated extra-intestinal pathogen. Here, Reid et al. present a pan-genomic analysis of a global collection of ST58 isolates from animal and human sources, showing that ColV plasmid acquisition likely contributed to the divergence of a major sub-lineage that has a broad host range but is more commonly found in poultry and swine.