E.coli

[blue orchid1]

If we all have E.coli in our colon, how did it get there? Is it there at birth?

[kwicky]

Its almost like asking whether the egg came before the chicken as we need the bacterium to break down our food. If we take anti-biotics they are killed in the gut but miraculously they reappear soon after. As they are so essential in our wellbeing could they be manufactured from within our own DNA?

[gen2]

They definitely don't get created by our own DNA. E. coli are ubiquitous in the environment and short of bringing up an infant in a clinically sterile bubble, it is impossible to prevent inoculation of the gut with E. coli. There are many strains of E. coli and some are more harmful than others. so an infant should not be exposed to cattle excrement (or direct exposure to any excrement for that matter). The most usual source will be from contamination from parents and siblings.

Incidentally, the newborn young of some species deliberately eat their mother's faeces in order to inoculate their gut. Gut bacteria are important for the digestion of food and the manufacture of some vitamins.

[Peter Pedant]

Yeah my dog does this,
especially likes cat poo - ugh !

No your gut is sterile at birth
and is full of meconium - Aristotle thought that was kept the child still in the womb

and then it gets seeded from above by the bacteria in food.

Lab rat pups can be kept clear from bacteria in the gut by raisiing them in a sterile environment
cant be much fun - all the food is sterilised and tasteless
These are called agnotobiotic rats
and they dont exhibit blood group antibodies for example

I for example am an O+ rat
and if I were agnotobiotic I would not have anti A and anti B antibodies (which are from cross reactions to gutbacteria)

PP

[Kaylz1988]

Whats e.coli... :S