[The ecological and medical aspects of the symbiosis between Escherichia coli and man].
In this work different variants of the symbiosis of E. coli with a human body are analyzed, and the symbiotic relationships between them are shown to follow the type mutualism, commensalism, parasitism and habitation. The authors emphasize that the multiplicity of variants of bacteria-host relationships is based on the phenotypic polymorphism of E. coli clones (clone lines). Taking into account their ecological (symbiotic) features and biomedical importance, all E. coli clones are divided into 4 groups (clusters): mutualists as nonpathogenic organisms; commensals as potential pathogens (causing extraintestinal E. coli infections); parasites as real pathogens (causing acute intestinal infections); "occasional" symbionts of man. The proposition on the cluster structure of E. coli as a species is formulated.
Institute of Cellular and Intracellular Symbiosis, Urals Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Orenburg, Russia.
V A
VA
Gritsenko
O V
OV
Bukharin
D018988:Bacterial Translocation / Q000502:physiology; D004064:Digestive System / Q000382:microbiology; D017753:Ecosystem; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology*; D004927:Escherichia coli Infections / Q000209:etiology / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D012016:Reference Values; D013559:Symbiosis