Within-host evolution versus immigration as a determinant of Escherichia coli diversity in the human gastrointestinal tract

When a human host harbors two or more strains of Escherichia coli, the second strain is more likely to be a member of the same phylogroup rather than a different phylogroup. This outcome may be the consequence of a within host evolution event or an independent immigration/establishment event. To determine the relative importance of these two events in determining E. coli diversity in a host, a collection of multiple E. coli isolates recovered from each of 67 patients undergoing colonoscopies was used. Whole genome sequence data were available for one example of every REP-fingerprint type identified in a patient. Sequence type (ST) and single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analyses revealed that 83% of strains observed in the host population were a consequence of immigration/establishment events. Restricting the analysis to hosts harboring two or more strains belonging to the same phylogroup revealed that in about half of these cases, the presence of a second strain belonging to the same phylogroup was the consequence of an independent immigration/establishment event. Thus, the results of this study show that despite hosts being exposed to a diversity of E. coli via their food, factors related to the host also determine what E. coli strains succeed in establishing.