Overview
- Rod-shaped, gram negative bacteria
- Extensively used in the research and biotech and pharmaceutical industry
- Most E. coli strains are harmless, some are pathogenic to humans.
- Harmless strains of E. coli are present in the lower intestine of humans and other mammals and benefit their hosts by producing vitamin K2 and preventing colonization of pathogenic bacteria.
- Most laboratory strains of E. coli are derived from K-12 strain.
Advantages and applications:
- Whole genome is sequenced
- Easy manipulation
- Well known genetics
- Harmless to humans (laboratory strains)
- High growth rate with minimal growth requirements (can grow rapidly when provided with simple media containing carbon and nitrogen and some trace elements
- Suitable to answer fundamental questions in biology (our early knowledge on DNA replication, transcription, translation, gene regulation, restriction enzymes were mostly based work on E. coli)
- Suitable for production of pharmaceutical compounds for human use (e.g., production of recombinant insulin)
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