| Description: |
Escherichia coli is a Gram-negative straight rod, which either uses peritrichous flagella for mobility or is nonmotile. It is a facultatively anaerobic chemoorganotroph capable of both respiratory and fermentative metabolism. E.coli serves a useful function in the body by suppressing the growth of harmful bacterial species and by synthesising appreciable amounts of vitamins. It is an important component of the biosphere. It colonizes the lower gut of animals and survives when released to the natural environment, allowing widespread dissemination to new hosts. Pathogenic E.coli strains are responsible for infection of the enteric, urinary, pulmonary and nervous systems.
Escherichia coli E24377A is an enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC) isolate, ETEC being the leading cause of traveler's diarrhea, characterized by a large volume of watery diarrhea. ETEC primarily colonizes the small intestine by way of the colonization factor antigen (CFA) pili; E. coli E24377A has been shown to contain CFA pili types CS1 and CS3. Two additional toxins are thought to be responsible for the virulence, a heat stable and a heat labile enterotoxin. Other virulence factors include serotype O139:H28 and potential factors encoded on 6 uncharacterized plasmids. |
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