Bug Research Paper_ Escherichia coli (E. coli)

This bug research paper explores the history, physical structure, beneficial effects, negative outcomes, and treatment measures of Escherichia coli (E. coli). It discusses the different strains, transmission methods, and prevention measures to avoid E. coli infections.

Running head: BUG RESEARCH PAPER_ ESCHERICHIA COLI (E. COLI) 1
Bug Research Paper_ Escherichia coli (E. coli)
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BUG RESEARCH PAPER_ ESCHERICHIA COLI (E. COLI) 2
History
Often, mammals are substantially infected and affected by bacterial infections. I chose
the Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria as one of the pathogens that cause infections to human
beings. The results of bacterial infection that I selected are often disastrous in all living
organisms infected by E. coli including but not limited to human beings. E. coli is a Gram-
negative bacterium that is rod-shaped and mostly survives commensally in lower intestines or the
gut of both human beings and animals. Like any other disease, E. coli is associated with both
mortality and morbidity that reach up to 30% (Deatherage et al., 2017). Some strains of E. coli
cause health disorders to hosts as a result of eating contaminated food or drinking fouled water.
Besides, the bacterium extends its infections to urinary tracts of hosts. Therefore, this research
will focus on the physical structure of E. coli the negative outcomes associated with the
bacterium, how the bacterium can be treated and its positive economic significance. Through the
research, exploration will be made in different ways through which the E. coli infection is
enhanced by various causal agents.
Microbe, Physical Structure
Extensive research by Poirel et al. (2016) illustrates that E. coli is a facultative anaerobe
that has the shape of the rode. The bacteria are commonly found on animal feces, especially at
the intestines of mammals. Also, their growth is influenced best in temperatures of 37˚ C. I found
that the bacteria appear both as a harmless strain which can be treated using boiled water and as a
harmful strain that causes severe illness due to the taking of contaminated foods (Who.int, 2019).
The several categories of harmful E. coli strains cause several extra-intestinal and intestinal
infections such as urinary tract infections. Among the devastating strains include the
enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC). The chromosome of E. coli is circular single structured with

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some consisting of a circular plasmid. Besides, there is a single chromosome of 4600kb and with
4300 coding sequences of an E. coli structure.
Moreover, I found that 70 percent of the E. coli chromosomes is composed of
monocistronic genes, and 6 percent consists of polycistronic. The different strains of E. coli
differ in their genotypic content. The genotype is responsible for the phenotype which in return
influences the lifecycle and physiological processes of each strain (Goodall et al., 2018). As a
result, different E. coli strains can live in a variety of animals, thus, increasing chances for
continuous and number existence in hosts. The bacteria are commonly produced by natural
biological mutation process (Shan et al., 2016). Furthermore, like any other bacteria, DNA
materials in E. coli are transferred through bacterial conjugation with other bacteria which they
have a relationship. The outcome of bacterial conjugation is a more developed strain and more
mutation occurrences.
According to Mirsepasi-Lauridsen et al. (2019), E. coli has a cell wall with both the outer
and inner membranes. Besides, it possesses an adhesive fimbria. The bacteria I selected have
some strains that are piliated and have the ability to transfer and accept plasmid to and from
other bacteria, a condition that increases their survival under bad conditions. Finally, despite
having a single cell structure, E. coli performs complex metabolism to maintain cell division and
growth.
Beneficial Effects
Research conducted by Schmidt et al. (2016), indicates that affection of E. coli on the
large intestines helps in the process of digestion, vitamin K production, food breakdown, and
absorption. I found that the ability of the bacteria to help in waste processing along large
intestines is associated with some strains but not all the strains. The bacteria easily help

BUG RESEARCH PAPER_ ESCHERICHIA COLI (E. COLI) 4
decompose and break down the undigested food materials in the gut increasing the surface area
for absorption. Besides, some of the dead bacteria within the gut produce Vitamin K which is
responsible for blood clotting in animals and human beings.
Negative Outcomes
However, on my research, some harmful strains of E. coli have dangerous and
devastating effects on infected hosts that start to appear 2 to 5 days after taking E. coli bacteria
(Xavier et al., 2016). The effects start from mild no severe from the time of infection to the point
of even causing deaths. The bacteria cause infections to humans, sheep, cattle, horses, dogs and
goats (Shan et al., 2016) The urinary tract infections have commonly experienced in a condition
that accelerates the urethra infections within the victims. The infections affect both females and
males as well as infants and adults. It will, therefore, become dangerous especially when E. coli
infects the urinary tracts as it creates a room for other diseases such as penal and cervical cancer
a condition that may be not easy to recover.
In additions, I found that other strains such as E. coli O157: H7 cause food poisoning. A
poisoned food taken by human beings results in bloody diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal cramps
and acute kidney failure in extreme conditions (Suzanne, 2019). Kidney failure conditions may
cause deaths if no the kidney is not changed therefore risky to a patient. Other life-threatening
symptoms include fever, confusion, bleeding, seizures, nausea, constant fatigue and adult kidney
failure (Mayo Clinic, 2019). On my further analysis, among the foods that are prone to E. coli
poisoning include the untreated milk, ground meat, water, beverages, vegetables and fruits.
These foods should be consumed following the prescriptions provided by the medical officers to
reduce chances of infection.

BUG RESEARCH PAPER_ ESCHERICHIA COLI (E. COLI) 5
Treatment Measures
According to Antonovsky et al. (2016), proper treatments can be achieved only if the
infected hosts are subjected to lab tests for E. coli presence. Under the test, a sample of victim
stool is sent to the lab for tests and analysis. Therefore, E. coli strains that are associated with
diarrhea can be treated using the recommended antibiotics. However, the presence of much fever
in a patient or a suspect of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, the use of antibiotics is discouraged as
they increase the rate of toxin production and therefore worsening the victim conditions.
Besides, since E. coli infections are mostly associated with diarrhea, taking a rest and
drinking plenty of fluids will replace fluids lost from the body through vomiting. Moreover,
when the victim condition changes to better, the victim should stick to low-fiber foods such as
the eggs, rice, crackers and toasts. An analysis conducted by Palmela et al. (2016) illustrates that
taking foods rich in fats and fiber such as the dairy products make the symptoms worse.
Therefore, after the diagnosis of E. coli infections, the patient should avoid consumption of foods
rich in fiber as they increase surface area for the production of the bacteria by producing toxins.
Similarly, foods, with a lot of fat increase the surface area for E. coli mutations and
developments, thus, worsening the patient symptoms.
Furthermore, preventions can be made alongside E. coli infections since they act as a
better way of terminating bacterial disease infections compared to cure. Considering, the
bacteria’s transmission means, washing hands before food preparation, preparation of food for
infants, touching anything such as the mouth of an infant forms major basics of preventing E.
coli infections (Suzanne, 2019). Besides, hands should be washed after changing a diaper or
using the bathroom, after having contact with animals and after handling raw meat. Since the

BUG RESEARCH PAPER_ ESCHERICHIA COLI (E. COLI) 6
bacteria in most cases can be found in the stool of human beings, by ensuring that the hands are
clean after visiting the toilet or changing diapers means that the bacteria the patient may come
into contact with is removed, hence, low risk of E. coli infection.
Lastly, Antonovsky et al., (2016) illustrate that all utensils and cutlery should be washed
before and after use. Moreover, raw and cooked foods should be kept separate or should not be
put in a common utensil. When cooked food is separated from raw food, the bacteria that may be
present in raw food cannot be easily be transmitted to the cooked food that is ready for
consumption. On the other hand, swimming water should not be swallowed as it may contain E.
coli bacteria, thus, causing infections. Because the victim may not be able to differentiate
between harmful and harmless E. coli strains, it is therefore prudent that the victim takes care of
all the precautions under consideration to minimize chances and risks of E. coli infections.
I can conclude that bacterial infections can have severe effects if not treated early.
Treatments should be sought early enough as well as observing the prevention measures being
affected by E. coli bacteria. As much as E. coli bacteria may have beneficial effects within the
victim’s body, the effects associated outweigh the benefits hence should treat in time. Thus, the
precaution measures should be observed in order to avoid careless infections. Besides, I suggest
that by observing prevention mechanisms means, treatment costs and hospital bills will not incur
as a result of E. coli infection.

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References
Antonovsky, N., Gleizer, S., Noor, E., Zohar, Y., Herz, E., Barenholz, U., ... & Davidi, D.
(2016). Sugar synthesis from CO2 in Escherichia coli. Cell, 166(1), 115-125.
Deatherage, D. E., Kepner, J. L., Bennett, A. F., Lenski, R. E., & Barrick, J. E. (2017).
Specificity of genome evolution in experimental populations of Escherichia coli evolved
at different temperatures. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114(10),
E1904-E1912.
Goodall, E. C., Robinson, A., Johnston, I. G., Jabbari, S., Turner, K. A., Cunningham, A. F., ... &
Henderson, I. R. (2018). The essential genome of Escherichia coli K-12. MBio, 9(1),
e02096-17.
Mayo Clinic. (2019). E. coli - Symptoms and causes. Retrieved from
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/e-coli/symptoms-causes/syc-20372058.
Mirsepasi-Lauridsen, H. C., Vallance, B. A., Krogfelt, K. A., & Petersen, A. M. (2019).
Escherichia coli pathobionts associated with inflammatory bowel disease. Clinical
microbiology reviews, 32(2), e00060-18.
Palmela, C., Chevarin, C., Xu, Z., Torres, J., Sevrin, G., Hirten, R., ... & Colombel, J. F. (2018).
Adherent-invasive Escherichia coli in inflammatory bowel disease. Gut, 67(3), 57
Poirel, L., Kieffer, N., Liassine, N., Thanh, D., & Nordmann, P. (2016). Plasmid-mediated
carbapenem and colistin resistance in a clinical isolate of Escherichia coli. The Lancet
infectious diseases, 16(3), 281.

BUG RESEARCH PAPER_ ESCHERICHIA COLI (E. COLI) 8
Schmidt, A., Kochanowski, K., Vedelaar, S., Ahrne, E., Volkmer, B., Callipo, L., ... &
Heinemann, M. (2016). The quantitative and condition-dependent Escherichia coli
proteome. Nature biotechnology, 34(1), 104.
Shan, Y., Gandt, A. B., Rowe, S. E., Deisinger, J. P., Conlon, B. P., & Lewis, K. (2017). ATP-
dependent persister formation in Escherichia coli. MBio, 8(1), e02267-16.
Suzanne, F. (2019). E. coli infection: Symptoms, causes, and treatment. Retrieved from
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/68511.php
Who.int (2019). E. coli. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/e-coli
Xavier, B. B., Lammens, C., Ruhal, R., Kumar-Singh, S., Butaye, P., Goossens, H., & Malhotra-
Kumar, S. (2016). Identification of a novel plasmid-mediated colistin-resistance gene,
mcr-2, in Escherichia coli, Belgium, June 2016. EuroSurveillance Monthly, 21(27),
30280.