The epidemic of german enterohemmorhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) caused by a sudden spurt in E. coli O157:H7 is bringing an old and venerable model organism back into the spotlight. In my lab, due to serendipty and a thinking project students persistence, we have begun to look at variability in E. coli. And indeed a population level fluctuation in a cell might indeed confer bacteria in general an ability better adapt to their environment, in a shorter time than genetic modifications might.
Why is the german EHEC all of a sudden back in the news. Coming on the back of NDM and the publicity associated with the Metalloprotease resistant E. coli found in patients from India, Pak-i-stan, China, Egypt and many countries apparently caused by sporadic usage of antibiotics, this is quite shocking.
As a basic biologist we are told, E. coli is "done". We can move onto more complex cell types. But I guess its still not "done" as a problem. Not after the initial bacteriological work, not after the genome, proteome and all the other fancy stuff. New insights are beginning (atleast at a semantic level) to question if bacteria can even be treated as single celled organisms. The elaborate chemical communication between cells, appears to be more akin, atleast superficially, to a multi-cellular organism.
Clearly the jury is still out. And more exciting discoveries await those brave enough to go back to the old frontiers. Discovered officially by Theordor Escherisch (in Germany) in 1885. The strains were classified on some features such that:
O: ohne Haut (without a skin/film)
H: Hauch (with a skin/film)
K: Kapsel (with a capsule)
The common lab strain K12 is a capsular bacterium. How EHEC causes its damage we will discuss in the next post, but in a generally hygenic country like germany, the causes of the new epidemic might be interesting to delve into. Summer or no summer, Germany is still interesting.
Why is the german EHEC all of a sudden back in the news. Coming on the back of NDM and the publicity associated with the Metalloprotease resistant E. coli found in patients from India, Pak-i-stan, China, Egypt and many countries apparently caused by sporadic usage of antibiotics, this is quite shocking.
As a basic biologist we are told, E. coli is "done". We can move onto more complex cell types. But I guess its still not "done" as a problem. Not after the initial bacteriological work, not after the genome, proteome and all the other fancy stuff. New insights are beginning (atleast at a semantic level) to question if bacteria can even be treated as single celled organisms. The elaborate chemical communication between cells, appears to be more akin, atleast superficially, to a multi-cellular organism.
Clearly the jury is still out. And more exciting discoveries await those brave enough to go back to the old frontiers. Discovered officially by Theordor Escherisch (in Germany) in 1885. The strains were classified on some features such that:
O: ohne Haut (without a skin/film)
H: Hauch (with a skin/film)
K: Kapsel (with a capsule)
The common lab strain K12 is a capsular bacterium. How EHEC causes its damage we will discuss in the next post, but in a generally hygenic country like germany, the causes of the new epidemic might be interesting to delve into. Summer or no summer, Germany is still interesting.
