140 years of the model organism Escherichia coli as the "workhorse of molecular biology and biomedicine"

Abstract

The Escherichia coli bacterium is presented from its discovery in 1885 by the German-Austrian microbiologist and pediatrician Theodor Escherich, to contemporary research using state-of-the-art experimental and bioinformatic techniques, including artificial intelligence and machine learning. E. coli accompany humans from birth as a commensal organism of the gut microbiota. However, some E. coli strains exhibit pathogenic properties, causing intestinal and extraintestinal diseases, sometimes threatening the health and even life of the host. At the same time, 140 years after the discovery of E. coli bacteria, it is the best-studied single-celled organism in the world. Molecular biologists, bacteriologists, and biochemists point to the enormous importance of E. coli as a model organism in understanding the molecular mechanisms of key life processes in both health and disease, as well as its use in industrial-scale biotechnology. That is why E. coli is called the “workhorse of molecular biology and biomedicine,” and scientists working with E. coli strains have been recognized and honored for their discoveries with numerous Nobel Prizes.