Classification
Escherichia coli is a bacterium that is mostly found in humans and other animals. It is a unicellular micro-organism, making its Domain and Kingdom Bacteria. E. coli’s Phylum is Proteobacteria because it is a gram-negative bacterium. It is also in the Phylum Proteobacteria because of the lipopolysaccharides that protect the cell membrane. E. coli is a facultative anaerobic G- bacterium, making its Class Gamma Proteobacteria. Because of its rod-shape, E. coli’s Order is Enterobacteriales. Escherichia coli has peritrichous flagella, meaning the flagella’s mouth is surrounded with cilia. These peritrichous flagella fit E. coli into the Family Enterobacteriaceae. Since E. coli is mainly found in the GI tract of humans and other animals, it is placed in the Genus Escherichia. The Genus Escherichia has five species, one being Escherichia coli (Moder, 2008). There have been more than 700 serotypes of E. coli identified. The worst type of E. coli is E. coli O157:H7. This type causes bloody diarrhea, sometimes kidney failure, and even death. The majority of E. coli are actually harmless to humans and …show more content…
The Shiga toxin is broken down into two types, Shiga toxin 1 and Shiga toxin 2, both which are known as STEC. STEC E. coli is able to attach to the intestinal wall, damaging it and causing lesions due to a special gene that it encodes for. Someone suffering from this form of E. coli may experience abdominal cramps, vomiting, and fever. Often times, people experience hemorrhagic colitis (bloody diarrhea) due to the swelling, erosion, and hemorrhaging of the colon wall. Among those infected, 30-45% are hospitalized due to hemolytic anemia or renal failure. STEC E. coli will sometimes progress into the deadly HUS E. coli that causes pancreatitis, kidney problems, and neurological problems such as stroke, seizures, and comas (Escherichia,
Escherichia coli is a bacterium that is mostly found in humans and other animals. It is a unicellular micro-organism, making its Domain and Kingdom Bacteria. E. coli’s Phylum is Proteobacteria because it is a gram-negative bacterium. It is also in the Phylum Proteobacteria because of the lipopolysaccharides that protect the cell membrane. E. coli is a facultative anaerobic G- bacterium, making its Class Gamma Proteobacteria. Because of its rod-shape, E. coli’s Order is Enterobacteriales. Escherichia coli has peritrichous flagella, meaning the flagella’s mouth is surrounded with cilia. These peritrichous flagella fit E. coli into the Family Enterobacteriaceae. Since E. coli is mainly found in the GI tract of humans and other animals, it is placed in the Genus Escherichia. The Genus Escherichia has five species, one being Escherichia coli (Moder, 2008). There have been more than 700 serotypes of E. coli identified. The worst type of E. coli is E. coli O157:H7. This type causes bloody diarrhea, sometimes kidney failure, and even death. The majority of E. coli are actually harmless to humans and …show more content…
The Shiga toxin is broken down into two types, Shiga toxin 1 and Shiga toxin 2, both which are known as STEC. STEC E. coli is able to attach to the intestinal wall, damaging it and causing lesions due to a special gene that it encodes for. Someone suffering from this form of E. coli may experience abdominal cramps, vomiting, and fever. Often times, people experience hemorrhagic colitis (bloody diarrhea) due to the swelling, erosion, and hemorrhaging of the colon wall. Among those infected, 30-45% are hospitalized due to hemolytic anemia or renal failure. STEC E. coli will sometimes progress into the deadly HUS E. coli that causes pancreatitis, kidney problems, and neurological problems such as stroke, seizures, and comas (Escherichia,