E. albertii E. coli E. fergusonii E. hermannii E. ruysiae[2] E. marmotae[2] Escherichia (/ˌɛʃəˈrɪkiə/ ESH-ə-RIK-ee-ə) is a genus of Gram-negative, non-spore-forming, facultatively anaerobic, rod-shaped bacteria from the family Enterobacteriaceae.

[3] Escherichia are usually motile by flagella, produce gas from fermentable carbohydrates, and do not decarboxylate lysine or hydrolyze arginine.

[5] Species include E. albertii, E. fergusonii, E. hermannii, E. ruysiae, E. marmotae and most notably, the model organism and clinically relevant E. coli.

While many Escherichia are commensal members of the gut microbiota, certain strains of some species, most notably the pathogenic serotypes of E. coli, are human pathogens,[7] and are the most common cause of urinary tract infections,[8] significant sources of gastrointestinal disease, ranging from simple diarrhea to dysentery-like conditions,[3] as well as a wide range of other pathogenic states[9] classifiable in general as colonic escherichiosis.

While E. coli is responsible for the vast majority of Escherichia-related pathogenesis, other members of the genus have also been implicated in human disease.