Escherichia coli

Definition

Escherichia coli ( ESH-ə-RIK-ee-ə KOH-lye) is a gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped, coliform bacterium of the genus Escherichia that is commonly found in the lower intestine of warm-blooded organisms. Most E. coli strains are part of the normal microbiota of the gut, where they constitute about 0.1%, along with other facultative anaerobes. These bacteria are mostly harmless or even beneficial to humans. For example, some strains of E. coli benefit their hosts by producing vitamin K2 or by preventing the colonization of the intestine by harmful pathogenic bacteria. These mutually beneficial relationships between E. coli and humans are a type of mutualistic biological relationship—where both the humans and the E. coli are benefitting each other. E. coli is expelled into the environment within fecal matter. The bacterium grows massively in fresh fecal matter under aerobic conditions for three days, but its numbers decline slowly afterwards.

Related concepts

1992–1993 Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak 1996 Odwalla E. coli outbreak 2005 South Wales E. coli O157 outbreak 2006 North American E. coli outbreak in spinach 2009 United Kingdom E. coli outbreak 2015 United States E. coli outbreak 2023 Calgary E. coli outbreak 2024 McDonald's E. coli outbreak 2024 United Kingdom Shigatoxigenic E. coli outbreak 8-Hydroxyquinoline ATC code A07 Acetarsol Acetate Acinetobacter baumannii Actinobacillosis Actinobacillus Adenosine triphosphate Adsorbent Aerobactin Aerobic organism Aerobic respiration Aeromonadales Aeromonas hydrophila Aeromonas infection Aeromonas veronii Affinity purification African clawed frog African tick bite fever Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans Agriculture in the United States Albert John Chalmers Albumin tannate Aldo Castellani Alkaline phosphatase Alphaproteobacteria American Type Culture Collection American tick bite fever Amino acid Aminosalicylate Amphotericin B Anaerobic respiration Anaplasma phagocytophilum Anaplasmataceae Anaplasmosis Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification System Anti-infective Anti-inflammatory Antiallergic Antibacterial Antibiotic sensitivity testing Antibiotics Antibodies Antibody Antidiarrhoeal Antigen Antimicrobial agents Antipropulsive Arabidopsis thaliana Arabinose Arc system Arizona State University Arsenical Atropine/diphenoxylate Azithromycin BacDive Bacillary angiomatosis Bacillary dysentery Bacillus (shape)Bacillus coli Bacteria Bacterial adhesin Bacterial conjugation Bacterial outer membrane Bacterial taxonomy Bacteriological water analysis Bacteriophage Bacterium (genus)Balsalazide Bartonella Bartonella bacilliformis Bartonella henselae Bartonella quintana Bartonellosis Base pair Beclometasone dipropionate Betamethasone Betaproteobacteria Binomial nomenclature Biofilm Biofuels Biological computing Biological engineering Bioremediation Biotechnology Bird Bismuth Bismuth subsalicylate Bismuth sulfite agar Blood–brain barrier BolA-like protein family Bordetella parapertussis Bordetella pertussis Boutonneuse fever Brazilian purpuric fever Brill–Zinsser disease Broxyquinoline Brucella abortus Brucellaceae Brucellosis Bubonic plague Budesonide Burkholderia cepacia complex Burkholderia mallei Burkholderia pseudomallei Burkholderiales CNN CPS operon CTV News Caenorhabditis elegans Cambrian Campylobacter jejuni Campylobacterales Campylobacteriosis Campylobacterota Carbapenem Carbapenemase Carbon Carbon dioxide Carbon fixation Carbon monoxide-releasing molecules Carbon source (biology)Carboniferous Cardiobacteriaceae Cardiobacterium hominis Carob Carrion's disease Carrot Cat-scratch disease Catabolism Catalogue of Life Cell cycle Cell wall Cellular senescence Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Chancroid Charcoal Chemotroph Chlamydomonas reinhardtii Cholera Chromobacteriosis infection Chromobacterium violaceum Ciprofloxacin Citrate Citrobacter freundii Citrobacter koseri Clade Clinical trial Codeine Coliform bacteria Coliform index Coliforms Colistin Commensalism Contamination control Corticosteroid Cortisol Coxiella burnetii Cretaceous Crofelemer Crohn's disease Cromoglicic acid Cytogenetics DNA DNA replication DNA sequence DSMZ DailyMed Dam dcm strain Dehydration Devonian Diarrhea Diarrhoea Difenoxin Dimethyl sulfoxide Diosmectite Diphenoxylate Dipotassium phosphate Distributed computing DnaA DnaG Drosophila melanogaster Drug of last resort E. coli 101-1 E. coli 11128 E. coli 11368 E. coli 12009 E. coli 536 E. coli 53638 E. coli 55989 E. coli APEC O1 E. coli ATCC8739 E. coli B7A E. coli BL21-DE3 E. coli BW2952 E. coli B REL606 E. coli CFT083 E. coli E110019 E. coli E22 E. coli E2348/69 E. coli E24377A E. coli EC4115 E. coli ED1a E. coli EDL933 E. coli F11 E. coli HS E. coli IAI1 E. coli IAI39 E. coli K-12 E. coli K-12 DH1 E. coli K-12 DH10b E. coli K-12 MG1655 E. coli K-12 W3110 E. coli Oslo O103 E. coli S88 E. coli SE11 E. coli SE15 E. coli SMS-3-5 E. coli Sakai E. coli TW14359 E. coli UMN026 E. coli UTI89 E. coli long-term evolution experiment EPPO Code EcoCyc Ecological niche Edema Edward Tatum Egypt Ehrlichia chaffeensis Ehrlichia ewingii Ehrlichiosis Ehrlichiosis ewingii infection Eijkman test Eikenella corrodens Electron carrier Electron microscopy Eluxadoline Embden–Meyerhof–Parnas pathway Encyclopedia of Life Endospore Energy Entamoeba coli Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli Enterobacter Enterobacter aerogenes Enterobacter cloacae Enterobacterales Enterobacteriaceae Enterohemorrhagic Enteroinvasive Escherichia coli Enteropathogen Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli Enterotoxins Entner–Doudoroff pathway EnvZ/OmpR Enzyme Epidemic typhus Ernst Haeckel Escherichia Escherichia albertii Escherichia coli (molecular biology)Escherichia coli O121 Escherichia coli in molecular biology Escherichia fergusonii Escherichia hermannii Escherichia vulneris Ethanol Eukaryote Evolution FNR regulon Facultative anaerobe Facultative anaerobic organism Far East scarlet-like fever Fecal coliform Fecal–oral route Feces Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection Fenugreek Fermentation Fidaxomicin Fis Fission (biology)Flagellin Flagellum Flea Flea-borne spotted fever Flinders Island spotted fever Fluoroquinolone Flying squirrel typhus Food contamination Foodborne illness Formate Formate dehydrogenase Formic acid Francisella tularensis Fumarate Félix d'Herelle Gammaproteobacteria Gastric cancer Gastroenteritis Gastrointestinal disease Gastrointestinal tract Gene duplication Gene nomenclature Genetics Genome Germany Glanders Global Biodiversity Information Facility Gluconate Glucose Glucose metabolism Glucose uptake Glycosylation Gonorrhea Gram-negative bacteria Gram-negative bacterial infection Granuloma inguinale Guillain–Barré syndrome Gut microbiota HACEK organisms Haemophilus Haemophilus ducreyi Haemophilus influenzae Haemophilus meningitis Haemophilus parainfluenzae Hamiltonian path problem Helicobacter cellulitis Helicobacter cinaedi Helicobacter pylori Hemolytic-uremic syndrome Hemolytic–uremic syndrome Herbert Boyer Heterologous Histidine Hok/sok system Homologous recombination Homology (biology)Horizontal gene transfer Host organism Human granulocytic anaplasmosis Human monocytotropic ehrlichiosis Human pathogen Hydrogen Hyphomicrobiales INaturalist IS elements Imidazole Immunocompromised Indicator organism Industrial fermentation Industrial microbiology Inflammatory bowel disease Insulin Integrated Taxonomic Information System Interactome Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera International Code of Nomenclature of Bacteria Intestinal Intestinal epithelium Intestine Intimin Invasive Species Compendium Island biogeography Japanese spotted fever Joshua Lederberg Jurassic Kanamycin Kaolinite Kaopectate Keio Collection Kingella kingae Klebsiella granulomatis Klebsiella oxytoca Klebsiella pneumoniae Laboratory mouse Laboratory rat LacUV5 Lac operon Lactic acid Lactose Lambda phage Landscape ecology Large intestine Laudanum Legionella longbeachae Legionella pneumophila Legionellales Legionnaires' disease Lipopolysaccharide Liquid-crystal display List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature List of bacterial genera named after personal names List of strains of Escherichia coli List of withdrawn drugs Loperamide Loperamide/simethicone Lysogeny broth MALT lymphoma MacConkey agar Magnesium sulfate Maize Maltose Mammal Mannan oligosaccharide-based nutritional supplements Mass spectrometry Mastitis Maze Medicago truncatula Megaannum Melioidosis Meningitis Meningococcal disease Meningococcal septicaemia Mesalazine Metabolism Metagenomics Methanogen Miconazole Microbiological culture Microbiology Microcin Micrometers Microvillus Min System Mite Mixed acid fermentation Model organism Molecular diagnostic Monera Monoammonium phosphate Moraxella catarrhalis Morphine Mucus Multiprotein complex Murine typhus Mutation Mutualism (biology)Myxococcus xanthus NADH NADPH Nanotechnology Natamycin National Center for Biotechnology Information Neisseria gonorrhoeae Neisseria meningitidis Neisseriaceae Neogene Neomycin Neurospora crassa Nifuroxazide Nifurzide Nitrate Nitrofuran North Asian tick typhus Nystatin O antigen Observation.org Ocean Biodiversity Information System Octreotide Olsalazine OmpT Open Tree of Life Open reading frames Operons Opioid Oral rehydration therapy Ordovician Orientia tsutsugamushi Origin of replication Overflow metabolism Oxford English Dictionary Oxidase test Oxygen Paleogene Palygorskite Pangenome Paratyphoid fever Paregoric Paromomycin sulfate Pasteurella multocida Pasteurellaceae Pasteurellosis Pathogenic Escherichia coli Pathogenic bacteria Pathogenicity Pectin Penicillin Pentose phosphate pathway Peptic ulcer Peptidoglycan layer Periplasm Periplasmic space Peritonitis Permian Pertussis Phages Phases of clinical research Phenylketonuria Phosphoprotein Phosphorylation Phosphotransferase system Photocatalysis Phthalylsulfathiazole Phylogeny Phylogroup Plague (disease)Plasmid Plesiomonas shigelloides Pneumonia Point of care Polymyxin B Polyvinylpyrrolidone Post-translational modification Precambrian Prednisolone Prednisone Probiotic Prokaryote Prophages Protein Protein expression (biotechnology)Proteome Proteus mirabilis Proteus vulgaris Pseudogene Pseudomonadales Pseudomonadati Pseudomonadota Pseudomonas aeruginosa Pseudomonas infection Pyruvates Pyruvic acid Q fever Queensland tick typhus RNA Racecadotril RecA RecBCD Receptor (biochemistry)Recombinant DNA Recombinant proteins Red Queen hypothesis Redox Regulation of therapeutic goods Replication fork Restriction enzyme Rhamnose Rhinoscleroma Rho factor Ribose Ribosomal RNA Richard Lenski Rickettsia aeschlimannii Rickettsia aeschlimannii infection Rickettsia africae Rickettsia akari Rickettsia australis Rickettsia conorii Rickettsia felis Rickettsia honei Rickettsia japonica Rickettsia parkeri Rickettsia prowazekii Rickettsia rickettsii Rickettsia sibirica Rickettsia typhi Rickettsiaceae Rickettsiales Rickettsialpox Rickettsiosis Rifaximin Rocky Mountain spotted fever RpoE RpoF RpoN RpoS Saccharomyces boulardii Saccharomyces cerevisiae Safranin Salmonella Salmonella enterica Salmonellosis Scanning helium ion microscope Schizosaccharomyces pombe Scrub typhus Self-limiting (biology)Sepsis Serine Serogroup Serotype Serratia infection Serratia marcescens Seymour Benzer Shiga toxin Shigatoxigenic and verotoxigenic Escherichia coli Shigella Shigella boydii Shigella dysenteriae Shigella flexneri Shigella sonnei Shigellosis Siderophore Silurian Sodium chloride Sorbitol Speciation Spotted fever Stanley Norman Cohen Stenotrophomonas maltophilia Stool culture Strain (biology)Streptomycin Stroke Subgroup Succinate Succinylsulfathiazole Sulfaguanidine Sulfasalazine Sulfonamide (medicine)Sulphate-reducing bacteria Synapsid Synonym (taxonomy)Synthetic ecosystems T4 phage T4 rII system Taxa in disguise Taxonomy (biology)Tetrahymena The Biodesign Institute Theodor Escherich Thiotrichales Threonine Tick-borne disease Tixocortol Trait (biology)Transduction (genetics)Transfer RNA Transposon Traveler's diarrhea Trench fever Triassic Trimethylamine N-oxide Tularemia Typhoid fever Typhus Tyrosine UniProt Urinary tract infection Uropathogenic Escherichia coli Vaccine Vancomycin Verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli Verruga peruana Vibrio alginolyticus Vibrio cholerae Vibrio parahaemolyticus Vibrio vulnificus Vibrionaceae Virulence Virulence factor Vitamin K2 WHO Model List of Essential Medicines Walkerton E. coli outbreak Walter Migula Warm-blooded Warm-blooded animals Water Waterhouse–Friderichsen syndrome Whole genome sequencing Wikidata Wikispecies Wild-type World Register of Marine Species Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering Xanthomonadaceae Xylose Yeast cell Yersinia enterocolitica Yersinia pestis Yersinia pseudotuberculosis Yersiniosis Zebrafish Μm

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