Pronunciation: ˌ ē - ' k ō - ˌ l ī
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural E. coli
Date: 1926
: an enterobacterium ( Escherichia coli ) that is used in public health as an indicator of fecal pollution (as of water or food) and in medicine and genetics as a research organism and that occurs in various strains that may live as harmless inhabitants of the human lower intestine or may produce a toxin causing intestinal illness