Escherichia coli (E. coli) is a gram-negative bacterium. Some strains are pathogenic, others do not cause disease.
Synonyms
Kolibakterium
Detailed description
On the one hand, E. coli is part of the healthy human intestinal flora. One the other hand, it can cause inflammation if translocated to other body parts. Moreover, there are pathogenic strains, which are a common cause for infectious diseases. Concerning molecular biology and genetics, this bacterium is the best researched organism. It is frequently used as a model organism in laboratories.
Antibacterial drugs are important for treating infections. However, increasing bacterial resistance to current drugs—making them ineffective or only partially effective—means that new drugs are
Professors Ivo Boneca (Institut Pasteur, Paris), Mark Brönstrup (Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Braunschweig, and German Center for Infection Research), and Christophe Zimmer (University of
Colistin is a last-resort antibiotic that is usually only used for severe infections with resistant bacteria. This is due to its severe kidney-damaging side effects, which occur in around 30 percent
The microbiome, i.e. the microorganisms that colonise our gut and help with digestion, weighs around one and a half kilograms. It consists primarily of bacteria and also has a protective effect
