FEATURE ARTICLE
The Evolutionary Ecology of Escherichia coli
Abundantly studied and much feared, E. coli has more genomic plasticity than once believed and may have followed various routes to become a pathogen
Valeria Souza, Amanda Castillo, Luis Eguiarte
Perspectives
In spite of the fact that E. coli is the best-known bacterium in the world, we are just starting to understand its ecology and evolutionary biology. It is clear that E. coli is a very diverse bacterium and that its genome is highly dynamic. It is not the strictly clonal organism suggested in the first population-genetics studies. It is a bacterium with a generous and complex sexuality, which has played a role in, among other things, its success as a pathogen. Successful combinations can be dispersed in epidemic fashion in human or animal populations, giving a false signal of clonality.
The diverse tools of molecular genetics and population genetics offer the possibility of completing adequate ecological and evolutionary studies of bacterial populations. These studies should be based on a solid knowledge of natural populations, their ecology and their biology. In our studies with the IECOL collection we have tried to make advances in this direction in E. coli. We are pleased to place our collection at the disposal of persons interested in working with it, and we look forward to the continuing evolution of our understanding of E. coli.
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