Absence of genetic selection in a pathogenic Escherichia coli strain exposed to the manure-amended soil environment.

Escherichia coli that express curli are more common in subsurface soil drainage when manure is surface applied. However, it is unknown whether this arises from mutations in individual strains leading to curli expression or by selection for individuals already expressing higher levels of curli. To test this, we examined curli production in pathogenic E.