This article is about Escherichia coli as a species. For E. coli in medicine, see Pathogenic Escherichia coli. For E. coli in molecular biology, see Escherichia coli (molecular biology).
Escherichia coli
Scientific classification
Domain: Bacteria
Kingdom: Eubacteria
Phylum: Proteobacteria
Class: Gammaproteobacteria
Order: Enterobacteriales
Family: Enterobacteriaceae
Genus: Escherichia
Species: E. coli
Binomial name
Escherichia coli
(Migula 1895)
Castellani and Chalmers 1919
Synonyms
Bacillus coli communis Escherich 1885
Escherichia coli (/ˌɛʃɨˈrɪkiə ˈkoʊlaɪ/;[1] commonly abbreviated E. coli) is a Gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped bacterium that is commonly found in the lower intestine of warm-blooded organisms (endotherms).