Contents


Preface

The title of the book "The Universe of *Escherichia coli*" aims to present and emphasize the huge diversity of this bacterial species and our efforts to prevent the infections caused by *E. coli*. *E. coli* is on one hand a well-known commensal species, as it is part of the gut microbiota of humans and other warm blooded organisms. Probiotic strains of *E. coli* do exist and they are successfully used for improving host's health. Also many "workhorse" *E. coli* strain exist that are employed in laboratory and biotechnology settings. But on the other hand, *E. coli* is on the list of biological agents – it is grouped in the human pathogen hazard group 2 and some *E. coli* strains (enterohemorrhagic strains) even in the hazard group 3. Furthermore, *E. coli* belongs to the bacterial pathogens with the broadest disease spectrum, as it can cause intestinal and also extraintestinal infections at many anatomical sites. And *E. coli* is also known to be an important animal pathogen. Therefore many efforts are undertaken to prevent *E. coli* infections, among them food safety, vaccines, but also

Hence the book has two sections, one dealing with the versatility of *E. coli* and the second dealing with our efforts to prevent *E. coli* infections. For both sections

Laboratory *E. coli* strains are categorized as non-pathogenic strains that can be safely used. So *E. coli* is a well-known and much used laboratory "workhorse", used as a model organism in many basic research areas. But *E. coli* is used also in biotechnology, where it is due to its rapid growth and easy handling, a much appreciated host organism, so many recombinant proteins are made by *E. coli* (see Chapter 1). Pathogenic *E. coli* strains are very diverse and associated with many types of infections in humans and animals. Among them a very prominent group are the enteropathogenic *E. coli*, which have been associated with outbreaks of diarrhoea (see Chapter 2). The versatility of *E. coli* is presented also by a large number of different mobile genetic elements such as transposons, plasmids, and insertion sequences

As *E. coli* is a well-known pathogen that becomes more and more resistant to antibiotics, we are already faced with difficulties in treatment of some *E. coli* infections, namely infections caused by the extended-spectrum beta-lactamases producing and carbapenem resistant *E. coli*. In this light, preventing *E. coli* infections by different means gains on importance. As humans can be infected by ingestion and/or not proper handling of with pathogenic *E. coli* contaminated food, special care has to be devoted to food safety and hence there is a chapter in the book dealing with this topic (see Chapter 4). As vaccines are a mean of possible protection against pathogenic *E. coli* that is not depending on the antimicrobial resistance pattern, a special chapter in the book is dealing with human and veterinary vaccines against pathogenic *E. coli* (see Chapter 7). WHO has put *Enterobacteriaceae* and among them *E. coli* on the list of bacteria for which new antimicrobial agents are urgently needed and grouped them into the Priority 1: CRITICAL group. So, in the last chapter the possibilities of photodynamic inactivation of *E. coli* with cationic porphyrin

that contribute to the plasticity of *E. coli* genome (see Chapter 3).

new alternative antimicrobial agents are searched for.

chapters were selected to represent the main topics.

sensitizers are presented (see Chapter 8).
