Belonging to a group of rod-shaped bacteria typified by E. coli.
- One specific subgroup of coliform are fecal coliform bacteria, the most common of which is Escherichia coli, known widely as E. coli.
- Even on a good day the river Ganges picks up levels of fecal coliform bacteria as it flows past Varanasi that are 10,000 times the World Health Organisation's standards for drinking water.
- The model also allowed USGS researchers to measure water-quality effects in terms of loads, the total amount of a contaminant, such as fecal coliform bacteria, that is transported past a monitoring station over a given period of time.
Early 20th century: from modern Latin coli 'of the colon' + -iform.
For editors and proofreaders
Line breaks: coli|form
What do you find interesting about this word or phrase?
Comments that don't adhere to our Community Guidelines may be moderated or removed.