Whole genome sequencing analysis of enteropathogenic from human and companion animals in Korea.

Importance: This study is essential for comprehending the zoonotic transmission, antimicrobial resistance, and genetic diversity of enteropathogenic (EPEC).

Objective: To improve our understanding of EPEC, this study focused on analyzing and comparing the genomic characteristics of EPEC isolates from humans and companion animals in Korea.

Methods: The whole genome of 26 EPEC isolates from patients with diarrhea and 20 EPEC isolates from companion animals in Korea were sequenced using the Illumina HiSeq X (Illumina, USA) and Oxford Nanopore MinION (Oxford Nanopore Technologies, UK) platforms.

Results: Most isolates were atypical EPEC, and did not harbor the gene. The most prevalent virulence genes were found to be (humans: 61.5%; companion animals: 60.0%) followed by (humans: 46.2%; companion animals: 60.0%). Although pan-genome analyses showed no apparent correlation among the origin of the strains, virulence profiles, and antimicrobial resistance profiles, isolates included in clade A obtained from both humans and companion animals exhibited high similarity. Additionally, all the isolates included in clade A encoded the gene and did not encode the gene. The two isolates from companion animals harbored an incomplete bundle-forming pilus region encoding and . Moreover, the type IV secretion system-associated genes and were found in the -encoding isolates from humans.

Conclusions And Relevance: Whole-genome sequencing enabled a more accurate analysis of the phylogenetic structure of EPEC and provided better insights into the understanding of EPEC epidemiology and pathogenicity.