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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Ames, Iowa » National Animal Disease Center » Ruminant Diseases and Immunology Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #105470
Title: ESCHERICHIA COLI O157:H7 AND THE RUMEN ENVIRONMENT (ESCHERICHIA COLI O157 IN FARM ANIMALS)

Author
item Rasmussen, Mark
item WICKMAN, T - USDA, ARS, NADC
item CRAY JR, W - USDA, ARS, NADC
item Casey, Thomas

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/25/1998
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The occurrence of facultative anaerobes, such as Escherichia coli, in an anaerobic environment like the rumen has, in the past, been dismissed as unimportant. These microbes were considered poor competitors in relation to the predominant population of strict anaerobes found in this environment. Microbial interactions within the rumen are complex, intensely competitive and known to inhibit the growth of enterobacteria. Although facultatively anaerobic enterobacteria are present in the rumen, they usually occur at relatively low population densities and are generally regarded to be transient and nongrowing. In recent years, the human pathogen E. coli O157:H7 has forced microbiologists to re-evaluate long-held beliefs concerning the ecology of facultative anaerobes like E. coli in the rumen and other gastrointestinal tract compartments.