The unexhausted potential of E. coli
E. coli's hardiness, versatility, broad palate and ease of handling have made it the most intensively studied and best understood organism on the planet. However, research on E.coli has primarily examined it as a model organism, one that is abstracted from any natural history. But E. coli is fa...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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eLife Sciences Publications Ltd
2015-03-01
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| Series: | eLife |
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| Online Access: | https://elifesciences.org/articles/05826 |
| _version_ | 1811200016551772160 |
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| author | Zachary D Blount |
| author_facet | Zachary D Blount |
| author_sort | Zachary D Blount |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | E. coli's hardiness, versatility, broad palate and ease of handling have made it the most intensively studied and best understood organism on the planet. However, research on E.coli has primarily examined it as a model organism, one that is abstracted from any natural history. But E. coli is far more than just a microbial lab rat. Rather, it is a highly diverse organism with a complex, multi-faceted niche in the wild. Recent studies of ‘wild’ E. coli have, for example, revealed a great deal about its presence in the environment, its diversity and genomic evolution, as well as its role in the human microbiome and disease. These findings have shed light on aspects of its biology and ecology that pose far-reaching questions and illustrate how an appreciation of E. coli's natural history can expand its value as a model organism. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T01:57:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0dec92df648d4db59dd563d07a49a524 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2050-084X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T01:57:42Z |
| publishDate | 2015-03-01 |
| publisher | eLife Sciences Publications Ltd |
| record_format | Article |
| series | eLife |
| spelling | doaj.art-0dec92df648d4db59dd563d07a49a5242022-12-22T03:52:46ZengeLife Sciences Publications LtdeLife2050-084X2015-03-01410.7554/eLife.05826The unexhausted potential of E. coliZachary D Blount0Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, United StatesE. coli's hardiness, versatility, broad palate and ease of handling have made it the most intensively studied and best understood organism on the planet. However, research on E.coli has primarily examined it as a model organism, one that is abstracted from any natural history. But E. coli is far more than just a microbial lab rat. Rather, it is a highly diverse organism with a complex, multi-faceted niche in the wild. Recent studies of ‘wild’ E. coli have, for example, revealed a great deal about its presence in the environment, its diversity and genomic evolution, as well as its role in the human microbiome and disease. These findings have shed light on aspects of its biology and ecology that pose far-reaching questions and illustrate how an appreciation of E. coli's natural history can expand its value as a model organism.https://elifesciences.org/articles/05826the natural history of model organismmodel organismecologynatural historymicrobiomepathogen |
| spellingShingle | Zachary D Blount The unexhausted potential of E. coli eLife the natural history of model organism model organism ecology natural history microbiome pathogen |
| title | The unexhausted potential of E. coli |
| title_full | The unexhausted potential of E. coli |
| title_fullStr | The unexhausted potential of E. coli |
| title_full_unstemmed | The unexhausted potential of E. coli |
| title_short | The unexhausted potential of E. coli |
| title_sort | unexhausted potential of e coli |
| topic | the natural history of model organism model organism ecology natural history microbiome pathogen |
| url | https://elifesciences.org/articles/05826 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT zacharydblount theunexhaustedpotentialofecoli AT zacharydblount unexhaustedpotentialofecoli |