E. coli. Such a short name for such a massive topic. This episode we explore the delightful diversity of Escherichia coli, the ubiquitous bacterium that predates humans and can range in virulence anywhere from “you won’t even know I’m there” to “this is really, really, really gonna hurt”. Today we cover the good, the bad, and the ugly: you’ll hear about the innumerable contributions of E. coli to the fields of genetics, evolution, and microbiology, a detailed account of how pathogenic strains can wreak havoc on your guts, and an exploration of one of the most infamous food-borne illness outbreaks in US history. Hoping we’d end it on a happy note? Better luck next time, folks.
| History | Biology |
| Benedict, Jeff. Poisoned: The true story of the deadly E. coli outbreak that changed the way Americans eat. February Books, 2015. | Kaper, James B., James P. Nataro, and Harry LT Mobley. “Pathogenic escherichia coli.” Nature reviews microbiology 2.2 (2004): 123. |
| Zimmer, Carl. Microcosm: E-coli and the New Science of Life. Random House, 2012. | Lim, Ji Youn, Jang W. Yoon, and Carolyn J. Hovde. “A brief overview of Escherichia coli O157: H7 and its plasmid O157.” Journal of microbiology and biotechnology 20.1 (2010): 5. |
| Blount, Zachary D. “The natural history of model organisms: The unexhausted potential of E. coli.” Elife 4 (2015): e05826. | Bourgeois, A. Louis, Thomas F. Wierzba, and Richard I. Walker. “Status of vaccine research and development for enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli.” Vaccine 34.26 (2016): 2880-2886. |
| Ramos-Alvarez, M., and Albert B. Sabin. “Enteropathogenic viruses and bacteria: role in summer diarrheal diseases of infancy and early childhood.” Journal of the American Medical Association 167.2 (1958): 147-156. | Brumbaugh, Ariel R., and Harry LT Mobley. “Preventing urinary tract infection: progress toward an effective Escherichia coli vaccine.” Expert review of vaccines 11.6 (2012): 663-676. |
| “Chasing Outbreaks: How Safe Is Our Food” Retro Report. The New York Times. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfGOJKbqrWk | Poolman, Jan T., and Michael Wacker. “Extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli, a common human pathogen: challenges for vaccine development and progress in the field.” The Journal of infectious diseases 213.1 (2015): 6-13. |
| “E. coli (Escherichia coli).” CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 13 Sept. 2019, www.cdc.gov/ecoli/index.html. | |
| “E. coli Fact Sheet.” , World Health Organization, 7 Feb. 2018, www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/e-coli. |
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