Escherichia | |
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SEM micrograph of cluster of Escherichia coli bacteria. Each individual bacterium is oblong shaped | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Bacteria |
Phylum: | Proteobacteria |
Class: | Gammaproteobacteria |
Order: | Enterobacteriales |
Family: | Enterobacteriaceae |
Genus: | Escherichia Castellani & Chalmers 1919 |
Species | |
E. albertii |
Escherichia is a genus of Gram-negative, non-spore forming, facultatively anaerobic, rod-shaped bacteria from the family Enterobacteriaceae.[1] In those species which are inhabitants of the gastrointestinal tracts of warm-blooded animals, Escherichia species provide a portion of the microbially-derived vitamin K for their host. A number of the species of Escherichia are pathogenic.[2] The genus is named after Theodor Escherich, discoverer of E. coli
Contents |
While many Escherichia are harmless commensals, particular strains of some species are human pathogens,[3] and are known as the most common cause of urinary tract infections,[4] significant sources of gastrointestinal disease, ranging from simple diarrhea to dysentery-like conditions,[1] as well as a wide-range of other pathogenic states.[5] While Escherichia coli is responsible for the vast majority of Escherichia-related pathogenesis, other members of the genus have also been implicated in human disease.[6][7]