**E. coli in Disease**

such as pressurized carbon dioxide, the use of nanoparticles, and the use of essential oils for the control of this organism. Further topics discussed in the book include physiology, micronu‐ trient utilization in the form of phosphate homeostasis, and mechanisms of survival in stressful conditions such as in salty environment in the case of increased temperature with global warm‐ ing or just in nutrient-deprived conditions and provide a good start for further discussions for future research. The different chapters also raise several questions in terms of the identification

The book therefore discusses recent advances in all the topics cited above and presents an interesting reading particularly sharpened toward application compared to just basic science. Here we present different aspects of this marvelous organism from its pathogenic capacity both at the intestinal and extraintestinal infections; its use as a model organism has been dis‐ cussed as well. For those working in the laboratory, methods for the detection, isolation, and characterization of *E*. *coli* have been discussed including innovative methods for the detection of lipopolysaccharides, which can be used as markers of infections or even contamination. The use of biosensor instruments for the detection of *E. coli* in different types of samples including humans, animals, and environmental samples has also been discussed. With the recent advan‐ ces in cell phone technology, it is appropriate to adapt such useful tool for application in the

> **Professor Amidou Samie** Department of Microbiology,

> > University of Venda, Limpopo Province,

> > > South Africa

of issues that need further attention for the development of knowledge.

X Preface

detection of water contamination, for example, as discussed in the book.

**Chapter 1**

**Enterotoxigenic and Enterohemorrhagic** *Escherichia*

Enterotoxigenic *Escherichia coli* (ETEC) and Enterohemorrhagic *Escherichia coli* (EHEC) are major food‐ and water‐borne pathogens that constitute a serious public health threat in low‐income and developed countries, respectively. Survival and expression of viru‐ lence genes in the human digestive tract are key features in bacterial pathogenesis, but the mechanisms behind these processes remain largely unknown due to obvious pro‐ hibition of human studies. Use of well‐controlled and multi‐parametric *in vitro* models can aid in addressing knowledge gaps in ETEC and EHEC pathogenesis. After a general description of the physiopathology of ETEC and EHEC infections, this chapter will give an overview of all the *in vitro* studies that have investigated the effect of the main physi‐ cochemical and biotic parameters of the human gut on pathogen survival and expression of virulence factors. We bring a picture of how ETEC and EHEC are able to adapt to each of the successive environments of the human gastrointestinal tract by reading many cues

**Keywords:** enterotoxigenic *Escherichia coli* (ETEC), enterohemorrhagic *Escherichia coli* (EHEC), survival, virulence genes expression, human gastrointestinal tract, *in vitro*

> © 2017 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

*coli***: Survival and Modulation of Virulence in the**

**Human Gastrointestinal Tract**

Charlène Roussel, Charlotte Cordonnier,

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

provided by both the host and the gut microbiota.

Valérie Livrelli, Tom Van de Wiele and

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.68309

Stéphanie Blanquet‐Diot

**Abstract**

models
