Question

why is E.coli used for experiments in biotechnology? Class 12

Answer 1

The bacterium Escherichia coli (E. coli for short) is crucial in modern biotechnology. Scientists use it to store DNA sequences from other organisms, to produce proteins and to test protein function .

E. coli lives in the lower intestine of warm-blooded animals, including humans. It’s one of many bacterial species that inhabit our digestive tract in large numbers. In fact, there are more bacterial cells in our digestive tract than there are human cells in our bodies!

There are a large number of E. coli strains (or subtypes) with diverse characteristics. Most are harmless to humans, including the B and K-12 strains that are used routinely for laboratory work. However, some strains are harmful..