Escherichia coli replicates in one plane and is a rod-shaped bacteria. it is a bacterium normally found in the intestine of humans as part of our normal flora. in some cases, e. coli can also cause disease. you collect a fecal sample to identify whether the patient has e. coli in his/her intestine. under the microscope you find a single-celled organism that is approximately 10 micrometers in size. this is approximately the same size a human white blood cell. true or false. based on this information, the identified cell could be e. coli.