TY - JOUR TI - The unexhausted potential of E. coli AU - Blount, Zachary D VL - 4 PY - 2015 DA - 2015/03/25 SP - e05826 C1 - eLife 2015;4:e05826 DO - 10.7554/eLife.05826 UR - https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.05826 AB - E. coli's hardiness, versatility, broad palate and ease of handling have made it the most intensively studied and best understood organism on the planet. However, research on E.coli has primarily examined it as a model organism, one that is abstracted from any natural history. But E. coli is far more than just a microbial lab rat. Rather, it is a highly diverse organism with a complex, multi-faceted niche in the wild. Recent studies of ‘wild’ E. coli have, for example, revealed a great deal about its presence in the environment, its diversity and genomic evolution, as well as its role in the human microbiome and disease. These findings have shed light on aspects of its biology and ecology that pose far-reaching questions and illustrate how an appreciation of E. coli's natural history can expand its value as a model organism. KW - the natural history of model organism KW - model organism KW - ecology KW - natural history KW - microbiome KW - pathogen JF - eLife SN - 2050-084X PB - eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd ER -