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By sequencing the complete DNA of each bacterial strain, the team was able to examine global patterns in the biology of E. coli associated with diabetic foot disease. By analysing how the strains are related and identifying the resistance mechanisms and virulence traits (the features or tools that make a microbe more harmful) they carry, the research helps explain why some diabetic foot infections are particularly difficult to treat or can progress rapidly to severe illness. By identifying which E. coli strains are most common and which antibiotics they are likely to resist, clinicians can choose therapies that are more likely to work, helping to reduce prolonged infection, hospitalisation, and the risk of amputation. Victor Ajumobi, a second-year PhD student at King's College London and the University of Westminster, and first author of the paper, added: "This information will be particularly valuable in low-resource settings, where E. coli infections of diabetic foot ulcers are more common and where rapid diagnostic tools for antimicrobial resistance are not always readily available.""