Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 7, 2026

04:56
Epithelial Cell Infection Analyses with Shigella
Published on: February 9, 2024
Research progress in Shigella in the postgenomic era.
JunPing Peng1, Jian Yang, Qi Jin
1State Key Laboratory for Molecular Virology and Genetic Engineering, Institute of Pathogen Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100176, China.
Science China. Life Sciences
|November 4, 2010
Summary
Shigella, a bacterial genus causing shigellosis, remains a public health threat. Advances in genomics and other
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Genomics
- Infectious Diseases
Background:
- Shigella species are Gram-negative, facultative intracellular anaerobes responsible for shigellosis.
- Shigellosis causes significant global morbidity and mortality, with over 164 million cases and 1.1 million deaths annually.
- The genus Shigella comprises four serogroups: S. dysenteriae, S. flexneri, S. boydii, and S. sonnei.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review current knowledge on the genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and structural biology of Shigella.
- To highlight the impact of whole-genome sequencing on understanding Shigella.
Main Methods:
- Review of contemporary scientific literature.
- Analysis of completed genome sequences from representative Shigella strains.
- Integration of data from genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and structural biology studies.
Main Results:
- The completion of seven Shigella genome sequences marks a new era in whole-genome studies.
- Genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic data provide insights into Shigella's biology and virulence.
- Structural biology studies are crucial for understanding pathogen-host interactions.
Conclusions:
- Understanding Shigella through multi-omics approaches is essential for combating shigellosis.
- Continued research in genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and structural biology will advance our knowledge of this important pathogen.
- Genomic data facilitates the development of novel control and treatment strategies for shigellosis.
Related Concept Videos
Evolution of Microbial Genome
Microbial genome evolution is a highly dynamic process shaped by continual gene gain and loss across species and strains. This genomic flexibility allows microorganisms to adapt rapidly to environmental pressures and interactions with other organisms. Central to understanding this diversity is the distinction between the core and pan genomes.The core genome comprises the genes shared by all sampled strains of a species, representing essential functions needed for fundamental cellular processes.
Next-generation Sequencing
The first human genome sequencing project cost $2.7 billion and was declared complete in 2003, after 15 years of international cooperation and collaboration between several research teams and funding agencies. Today, with the advent of next-generation sequencing technologies, the cost and time of sequencing a human genome have dropped over 100 fold.
Next-Generation Sequencing Methods
Although all next-generation methods use different technologies, they all share a set of standard features.
Next-Generation Sequencing Methods
Although all next-generation methods use different technologies, they all share a set of standard features.
Bacterial Gastroenteritis
Bacterial gastroenteritis, characterized by diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and vomiting, is often caused by ingestion of contaminated food or water and is frequently associated with pathogenic Escherichia coli strains. These microbes exploit two principal mechanisms to inflict disease.Shiga toxin–producing E. coli, also referred to as STEC—notably O157:H7—release Shiga toxins that target ribosomes, blocking protein synthesis. The B subunit of the toxin binds the host glycolipid receptor...
Modern Molecular Taxonomy
Advancements in molecular biology have revolutionized the identification and characterization of bacteria, with multiple methods leveraging DNA sequencing for enhanced precision. As sequencing technologies improve and costs decline, these approaches are increasingly used in clinical, environmental, and evolutionary studies.Multilocus Sequence Typing (MLST) examines several housekeeping genes, essential chromosomal genes encoding cellular functions, to distinguish strains. Approximately...
Genomics
Genomics is the science of genomes: it is the study of all the genetic material of an organism. In humans, the genome consists of information carried in 23 pairs of chromosomes in the nucleus, as well as mitochondrial DNA. In genomics, both coding and non-coding DNA is sequenced and analyzed. Genomics allows a better understanding of all living things, their evolution, and their diversity. It has a myriad of uses: for example, to build phylogenetic trees, to improve productivity and...
Sanger Sequencing
DNA sequencing is a fundamental technique that is routinely used in the biological sciences. This method can be applied to a range of questions at different scales - from the sequencing of a cloned DNA fragment or the study of a mutation in a gene up to whole-genome sequencing. However, despite the widespread use of sequencing today, it was not until 1977 that Fredrick Sanger and his collaborators developed the chain-termination method to decode DNA sequences. It relies on the separation of a...

