colibactin
Type: molecule Aliases: genotoxic colibactin pks+ E. coli
Systems Analogy
Corrosive shears introduced by invasive pests that slice structural master blueprints on the factory floor, causing defect propagation.
A genotoxic chemical metabolite produced by Escherichia coli strains carrying the pks pathogenicity island, which induces double-strand DNA breaks and mutational signatures in host mucosal cells.
Scientific Sources & Verbatim Definitions
- Empirical StudyPleguezuelos-Manzano C, et al. Mutational signature in colorectal cancer caused by genotoxic E. coli. Nature. 2020;580(7802):269-273. ↗
"Colibactin-producing E. coli strains induce double-stranded DNA breaks in mammalian cells."