coli strains from humans (n=42, each of which originated from an independent foodborne infection case) and animals (n=25 each for cattle, poultry, and swine, plus two from the mallard, Anas platyrhynchos, obtained from 10 prefectures; Fig. S1, Table S1), collected between 2008 and 2014, were subjected to the MLST analysis targeting seven genes (aspA, glnA, gltA, glyA, pgm, tkt, and uncA). Here, ASPA is linked to infection.