How to write E. coli
The CORRECT way to write E. coli is:
E. coli Note the following:- The uppercase "E" and the lowercase "coli" in E. coli
- The dot (period, full stop) after the "E" in E. coli
- The single space after the dot in E. coli
- E. coli should be in italics
INCORRECT ways to write E. coli are:
- E. coli (incorrect because it is not in italics)
- E.coli (incorrect because there is no space after the dot)
- E. Coli (incorrect because of uppercase "C")
- E. COLI (incorrect because of uppercase "COLI")
- e. coli (incorrect because of lowercase "e")
- E.-coli (incorrect because hyphen used instead of a space)
Please note in particular:
- Always use italics to write E. coli
- Always use a single space after the dot (i.e. before "coli") in E. coli
- Always use an uppercase "E" in E. coli
- Always use lowercase "coli" in E. coli
- Never use an uppercase "C" in E. coli, not even in headlines or headings
- Never use uppercase COLI in E. coli, not even in headlines or headings
- Never use a hyphen in E. coli
To be absolutely correct:
- Write Escherichia coli the first time you refer to the microbe in your report, article, or story
- Everywhere else in the same report, article, or story use the abbreviated form: E. coli