General Information: Citrobacter rodentium is the causative agent of transmissible murine colonic hyperplasia in mice. This disease is characterized by a hyperproliferation of the epithelial cells in the colon similar to that found in humans suffering from idiopathic inflammatory bowel disease. In addition this organism contains virulence factors similar to those found in enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli and enteropathogenic E. coli. C. rodentium are being used as models for studying mucosal response to infection, colon tumor production, and virulence associated with pathogenic E. coli.