Escherichia coli

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"E. coli" redirects here. For the protozoan commensal, see Entamoeba coli.
This article is about Escherichia coli as a species. For E. coli in medicine, see Pathogenic
Escherichia coli. For E. coli in molecular biology, see Escherichia coli (molecular biology).

Escherichia coli

Scientific classification

Domain: Bacteria

Phylum: Proteobacteria

Class: Gammaproteobacteria

Order: Enterobacteriales

Family: Enterobacteriaceae

Genus: Escherichia

Species: E. coli

Binomial name

Escherichia coli
 (Migula 1895)

Castellani and Chalmers 1919

Synonyms

Bacillus coli communis Escherich1885

Escherichia coli (/ˌɛʃɪˈrɪkiə ˈkoʊlaɪ/; also known as E. coli) is a Gram-negative, facultatively

[1]

anaerobic, rod-shaped, coliform bacterium of the genus Escherichia that is commonly found in the
lower intestine of warm-blooded organisms (endotherms). Most E. coli strains are harmless, but
[2][3]

some serotypes can cause serious food poisoning in their hosts, and are occasionally responsible
for product recalls due to food contamination. The harmless strains are part of the normal
[4][5]

microbiota of the gut, and can benefit their hosts by producing vitamin K , and preventing
2
[6]

colonization of the intestine with pathogenic bacteria, having a symbiotic relationship. E. coli is [7][8]

expelled into the environment within fecal matter. The bacterium grows massively in fresh fecal
matter under aerobic conditions for 3 days, but its numbers decline slowly afterwards. [9]

E. coli and other facultative anaerobes constitute about 0.9% of gut microbiota, and fecal–oral[10]

transmission is the major route through which pathogenic strains of the bacterium cause disease.
Cells are able to survive outside the body for a limited amount of time, which makes them
potential indicator organisms to test environmental samples for fecal contamination. A growing [11][12]

body of research, though, has examined environmentally persistent E. coli which can survive for
extended periods outside a host. [13]

The bacterium can be grown and cultured easily and inexpensively in a laboratory setting, and has
been intensively investigated for over 60 years. E. coli is a chemoheterotroph whose chemically
defined medium must include a source of carbon and energy. E. coli is the most widely
[14]

studied prokaryotic model organism, and an important species in the fields

of biotechnology and microbiology, where it has served as the host organism for the majority of work
with recombinant DNA. Under favorable conditions, it takes up to 20 minutes to reproduce. [15]