Escherichia coli
What's this?
- A
- A
- G
- C
- T
- T
- G
- A
- G
- T
- C
- T
- C
- G
- T
- A
- G
- A
- G
- G
- G
- G
- G
- G
Its ID gene: the stretch scientists read to tell microbes apart. Each bar is one letter of its DNA. Every species has its own order of letters, so the pattern works like a fingerprint. Close relatives share most of it.
16S rRNA gene, V4 region: the 253 letters between the standard primers (515F/806R), which are the same in every species. One reference sequence; strains can differ by a letter or two. NCBI NR_024570.1
Formerly Bacillus coli.
Large for a gut microbe: longer than 79% of the 2,354 we have genomes for.
51% G+C, higher than 56% of gut microbes.
To scale: if its ID gene were 1 cm long, its genome would stretch 31 meters. Yours would stretch 21 kilometers. One reference genome; strains vary. NCBI GCF_000005845.2
What it can do
- Can make lactic acid What yogurt bacteria make; other microbes turn it into butyrate.
- Can make B vitamins Folate, B12, riboflavin and others.
- Can use lactose The sugar in milk and dairy.
- Can change bile acids Modifies the bile acids the liver makes to digest fat.
Not seen in its genomes or lab tests: make butyrate, make propionate, ferment fiber, eat inulin, eat resistant starch, eat pectin, feed on gut mucus, make hydrogen sulfide, make methane.
All 13 capabilities and their evidence
| Capability | Verdict | Genome analysis | Lab tests | Published research |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Can make butyrate | Not seen | 0 of 981 genomes | — | No papers |
| Can make propionate | Not seen | 0 of 981 genomes | — | No papers |
| Can make lactic acid | Can | 981 of 981 genomes | — | Papers say yes |
| Can ferment fiber | Not seen | 0 of 981 genomes | 0 of 11 strains · strip test | No papers |
| Can eat inulin | Not seen | 0 of 981 genomes | 0 of 11 strains · strip test | No papers |
| Can eat resistant starch | Not seen | 0 of 981 genomes | — | No papers |
| Can eat pectin | Not seen | 0 of 981 genomes | — | No papers |
| Can use lactose | Can | 981 of 981 genomes | 15 of 18 strains | No papers |
| Can feed on gut mucus | Not seen | 0 of 981 genomes | — | No papers |
| Can change bile acids | Can | 4 of 981 genomes | — | Papers say yes |
| Can make B vitamins | Can | 981 of 981 genomes | — | Papers say yes |
| Can make hydrogen sulfide | Not seen | 0 of 981 genomes | — | No papers |
| Can make methane | Not seen | 0 of 981 genomes | — | No papers |
AGORA2 (Heinken et al. 2023) via VMH, CC BY 4.0 · BacDive (DSMZ), CC BY 4.0 · NJC19 (Lim et al., Scientific Data 2020), CC0
In healthy guts
Found in 55% of healthy people.
- largest Segatella copri 6.2%
- 2nd largest Phocaeicola vulgatus 5.0%
- 3rd largest Faecalibacterium prausnitzii 4.7%
- 4th largest Bacteroides uniformis 3.2%
- 5th largest Agathobacter rectalis 2.5%
- 6th largest Alistipes putredinis 2.3%
- 7th largest Bifidobacterium longum 2.1%
- 8th largest Ruminococcus bromii 1.8%
- top 20 Escherichia coli 1.1%
- 2,169 other microbes, each a sliver 55.6%
- 15.6%
On average, 1.1% of the microbes in a healthy gut: among the 20 largest slices.
Every group, drawn the same way. Only some samples record age or sex, so each group says how many people it comes from. Tap one to see it above.
In conditions
Compared with healthy people in the same studies, it’s less common in none and more common in 6 conditions. Only studies that had both are counted.
A difference is an association: it doesn’t mean this microbe causes, prevents or treats any of these.
Strongest first, then the biggest gap · Each figure is 10 people- Gestational diabetes As many carry it in people with it Healthy 84% With it 87%
Carriers have about a third as much, in 2 of 2 studies (0.14% → 0.05% of their gut microbes).
In studies of how people live
“Higher” is the study’s measure: on average, a bigger share of gut bacteria across everyone in the group, carriers or not. It isn’t how many people carry it. An association the authors report, measured once per person. It doesn’t mean a diet changes this microbe, or that the microbe affects health.
Recent research
Source: PubMed, U.S. National Library of Medicine · 2,481 linked papers, last 10 years
Strains studied
How much each strain has been studied in people, not whether it works. Many trials test a strain inside a blend, so those are counted apart, and reviews are summaries of trials, so they're never counted as more trials.
E. coli Nissle 1917
also DSM 6601 · EcN · Nissle Not a supplement Sold as a medicine in parts of EuropeNo human trials found yet
Human trials, meta-analyses and systematic reviews naming the strain · animal and lab studies not counted · Data sources