Escherichia blattae
A close relative of common-or-garden bacterium Escherichia coli (E.coli), first found in the hindgut of the oriental cockroach, Blatta orientalis. E.blattae is as rare as E.coli is common; an oddity still looking for a role in any kind of infectious disease.
Its main significance is that is was the second bacterial species added to the genus Escherichia (in 1973). In bacteriology, there are no awards for coming second.
It is now possible that this species will be assigned to another bacterial genus as Shimwellia blattae (No relation to the ‘Yale Kayaking E.coli‘)
At least the connection with cockroach faeces will be preserved for a while.
Escherichia blattae
Author Credit: Dr Tim Inglis
References
Gram-negative bacteria associated with brewery yeasts: reclassification of Obesumbacterium proteus biogroup 2 as Shimwellia pseudoproteus gen. nov., sp. nov. and transfer of Escherichia blattae to Shimwellia blattae comb. nov. Priest FG, Barker M. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol. 2009 Aug 6. [PMID 19661513]
Picture: Courtesy NIAID.
About Mike Cadogan
