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===Intestinal disease===
===Intestinal disease===
*''E. coli'' is part of the flora of the large intestine, but is not usually found in the small intestine
*Some strains possess fimbrae which attach the bacteria to the small intestinal epithelium of particular animal species
*K88 is associated with adhesion to the small intestinal mucosa of pigs
*K99 associated with adhesion in pigs and cattle (these possess certain fimbrae, and are now renamed F antigens)
*The fimbrae are encoded by plasmids
*Enterotoxigenic ''E. coli'':
**These strains carry a plasmid which encodes an enterotoxin
**Two types of enterotoxin: heat-labile (LT) and heat-stable (ST) toxins
**The plasmids which produce these toxins are responsible for the pathogenicity of these strains
**Causes scours in pigs and calves
**Fimbrial antigen or colonisation factor antigens (