ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Infectious Agents and Disease
Genomic Characterization, Antimicrobial Resistance, and Virulence Profiling of Escherichia coli Isolated from Diarrheic Calves in Gansu, China
Provisionally accepted
- 1Gansu Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, Pingliang, China
- 2Zhuanglang County Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Center, Pingliang, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
This study provides a comprehensive genomic investigation of Escherichia coli isolated from diarrheic calves in Gansu Province, China, a region with significant livestock production. By employing whole-genome sequencing on 15 isolates from 15 different farms, we characterized their molecular subtypes, plasmid repertoires, virulence gene profiles, and antibiotic resistance mechanisms. Our analysis revealed high genetic diversity with 10 sequence types and 9 serotypes, including a novel serogroup predicted by ECTyper software, indicating a complex population structure. While phenotypic testing demonstrated widespread multidrug resistance, canonical resistance genes were absent in many resistant strains, suggesting the presence of unknown mechanisms. Despite the insights gained, the small sample size (n=15) limits the generalizability of our findings and warrants confirmation in larger studies. Phylogenetic analysis further elucidated the roles of both clonal dissemination and horizontal gene transfer in shaping this population. These findings represent a significant conceptual advance by highlighting the extensive and under-characterized genomic complexity of bovine E. coli in this region. The critical discrepancy between observed multidrug resistance and its genotypic basis underscores an urgent, unmet need for integrated molecular surveillance and targeted control strategies, firmly situating the importance of this work within the global "One Health" framework.
Keywords: antimicrobial resistance, Calf diarrhea, Escherichia coli, Molecular Epidemiology, virulencegenes, Whole-genome sequencing
Received: 21 Oct 2025; Accepted: 02 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Meng, Chang, Wang and Lu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Qi Meng
Liang Chang
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.