Faecalibacterium | |
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Genus: | Faecalibacterium Duncan et al., 2002 |
Species: | F. prausnitzii F. butyricigenerans F. longum |
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Faecalibacterium prausnitziiFaecalibacterium butyricigenerans (Hauduroy et al., 1937) Duncan et al., 2002 Zou 2021 | |
Faecalibacterium is a genus of bacteria. The genus contains several species including Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, Faecalibacterium butyricigenerans, Faecalibacterium longum, [1] Faecalibacterium duncaniae, Faecalibacterium hattorii, and Faecalibacterium gallinarum. [2] Its first known species, Faecalibacterium prausnitzii (renamed as Faecalibacterium duncaniae) is gram-positive, [3] mesophilic, rod-shaped, [3] and anaerobic, [4] and is one of the most abundant and important commensal bacteria of the human gut microbiota. It is non-spore forming and non-motile. [5] These bacteria produce butyrate and other short-chain fatty acids through the fermentation of dietary fiber. The production of butyrate makes them an important member of the gut microbiota, fighting against inflammation. [6]
Formerly considered to be a member of Fusobacterium , the bacterium is named in honor of German bacteriologist Otto Prausnitz. In 2002, it was proposed to be reclassified as its own genus, Faecalibacterium, containing the species Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, as phylogenetic analysis from isolates showed it to be only distantly related to Fusobacterium, and a closer member of Clostridium cluster IV. [7] The bacterium is a gram-negative bacteria, as first classified to the Fusobacterium , however it stains as a gram-positive bacteria. [8] This can be alluded to the fact that it lacks lipopolysaccharides on its outer membrane, so it stains more closely to gram-positive bacteria, than to gram-negative.
Faecalibacterium prausnitzii has a genome 2,868,932 bp long and has a GC-content of 56.9%. The bacterium has been found to have 2,707 coding sequences, including 77 RNAs encoding genes. [5] 128 metabolic pathways have been reconstructed, as well as 27 protein complexes and 64 tRNAs. [9] Phylogenetically, the strains of F. prausnitzii compose phylogroups I and II. Most of the new isolates of this species isolated by Muhammad Tanweer Khan belong to phylogroup II. [10] A protein produced by this bacterium has been linked to anti-inflammatory effects. [11]
Faecalibacterium prausnitzii is strictry anaerobic, making it a very difficult bacteria to culture in laboratory conditions. However, there are certain conditions and media, which make it possible to culture even outside of the intestine. The rich medium YCFA is very suitable for the growth of this bacteria in anaerobic conditions. [12] Another media suitable for the growth of F. prausnitzii is YBHI. [12] Any liquid media or agar plates should be pretreated beforehand for 24 hours in an anaerobic chamber, to ensure they are completely anaerobic.
In healthy adults, Faecalibacterium prausnitzii represent approximately 5% of the total fecal microbiota but this can increase to around 15% in some individuals, making it one of the most common gut bacteria. [8] It has anti-inflammatory properties and may improve the imbalance in intestinal bacteria that leads to dysbiosis. [8] It is one of the main producers of butyrate in the intestine. Since butyrate inhibits the production of NF-kB and IFN-y, both involved in the pro-inflmmatory response, Faecalibacterium prausnitzii acts as an anti-inflammatory gut bacterium. [13] [14] [15] By blocking the NF-kB pathway, F. prausnitzii indirectly inhibts the production of the pro-inflammatory IL-8, secreted by the intestinal epithelial cells. [16] Other research has shown that there is a correlation between high populations of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, low IL-12 abundance, and higher IL-10 production. [17] [18] The upregulated IL-10 inhibts the secretion of IFN-y, TNF-alpha, IL-6, and IL-12, which are all pro-inflammatory cytokines. [18] Apart from butyrate, F. prausnitzii produce formate and D-lactate as byproducts of fermentation of glucose and acetate. [13] [7] Lower than usual levels of F. prausnitzii in the intestines have been associated with Crohn's disease, obesity, asthma and major depressive disorder. [18] [19] [20] [21] Higher than usual levels of the F06 clade of F. prausnitzii have been associated with atopic dermatitis. [22] Faecalibacterium prausnitzii can improve gut barrier function. [23] Supernatant of F. prausnitzii has been shown to improve the gut barrier by affecting the permeability of epithelial cells. [24] Another way that F. prausnitzii improves the gut barrier is by improving the permiability and the expression of tightly bound proteins - e-cadherin and occludin. Both of them increase the tight junctions between cells, strengthen the gut barrier and alleviate inflammation. [25] [13]
Studies show that F. prausnitzii interacts with other bacteria, which affects its butyrate production, and survival. When F. prausnitzii is cultured with Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron , it produces more butyric acid than standing alone, [26] [12] F. prausnitzii also benefits from growing with certain other bacteria. For example, in order to survive in the gut environment, it requires certain bacteria to be preexisting. B. thetaiotaomicron and Escherichia coli are needed to create a suitable environment for F. prausnitzii by reducing the redox potential and alter the composition of the nutrients. [27] [12]
In Crohn's disease, as of 2015 most studies (with one exception) found reduced levels of F. prausnitzii; [28] this has been found in both fecal and mucosal samples. [29] The lower abundance of these bacteria is not only associated to the chance of developing IBD, but also to the chance of relapsing after a successful therapy. People with lower abundance are six times more likely to relapse in the future. [18] However, it is a fastidious organism sensitive to oxygen and difficult to deliver to the intestine. [29]
Exclusive enteral nutrition, which is known to induce remission in Crohn's, has been found to reduce F. prausnitzii in responders. [30] This could be due to the lack of specific nutrients, that the bacteria need to survive. [31]
F. prausnitzii can also serve as a biomarker discriminating between different intestinal inflammatory conditions. It is a good biomarker to differentiate between Crohn's disease and colorectal cancer. [32] An even better biomarker is F. prausnitzii in comparison to E. coli as a complementary indicator (F-E index). This index serves really well in differentiating between colorectal cancer and ulcerative colitis. [32]
Combining both the host serological data plus microbiological indicators could serve as good biomarker, since it has been reported that Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis can be differentiated based on monitoring of F. prausnitzii in conjunction with leukocyte count. [33]
Ulcerative colitis (UC) is one of the two types of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), with the other type being Crohn's disease. It is a long-term condition that results in inflammation and ulcers of the colon and rectum. The primary symptoms of active disease are abdominal pain and diarrhea mixed with blood (hematochezia). Weight loss, fever, and anemia may also occur. Often, symptoms come on slowly and can range from mild to severe. Symptoms typically occur intermittently with periods of no symptoms between flares. Complications may include abnormal dilation of the colon (megacolon), inflammation of the eye, joints, or liver, and colon cancer.
Fusobacterium is a genus of obligate anaerobic, Gram-negative, non-sporeforming bacteria belonging to Gracilicutes. Individual cells are slender, rod-shaped bacilli with pointed ends. Fusobacterium was discovered in 1900 by Courmont and Cade and is common in the flora of humans.
Bacillota is a phylum of bacteria, most of which have gram-positive cell wall structure. The renaming of phyla such as Firmicutes in 2021 remains controversial among microbiologists, many of whom continue to use the earlier names of long standing in the literature.
Butyric acid, also known under the systematic name butanoic acid, is a straight-chain alkyl carboxylic acid with the chemical formula CH3CH2CH2CO2H. It is an oily, colorless liquid with an unpleasant odor. Isobutyric acid is an isomer. Salts and esters of butyric acid are known as butyrates or butanoates. The acid does not occur widely in nature, but its esters are widespread. It is a common industrial chemical and an important component in the mammalian gut.
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a group of inflammatory conditions of the colon and small intestine, with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis (UC) being the principal types. Crohn's disease affects the small intestine and large intestine, as well as the mouth, esophagus, stomach and the anus, whereas UC primarily affects the colon and the rectum.
Lactiplantibacillus plantarum is a widespread member of the genus Lactiplantibacillus and commonly found in many fermented food products as well as anaerobic plant matter. L. plantarum was first isolated from saliva. Based on its ability to temporarily persist in plants, the insect intestine and in the intestinal tract of vertebrate animals, it was designated as a nomadic organism. L. plantarum is Gram positive, bacilli shaped bacterium. L. plantarum cells are rods with rounded ends, straight, generally 0.9–1.2 μm wide and 3–8 μm long, occurring singly, in pairs or in short chains. L. plantarum has one of the largest genomes known among the lactic acid bacteria and is a very flexible and versatile species. It is estimated to grow between pH 3.4 and 8.8. Lactiplantibacillus plantarum can grow in the temperature range 12 °C to 40 °C. The viable counts of the "L. plantarum" stored at refrigerated condition (4 °C) remained high, while a considerable reduction in the counts was observed stored at room temperature.
Gut microbiota, gut microbiome, or gut flora are the microorganisms, including bacteria, archaea, fungi, and viruses, that live in the digestive tracts of animals. The gastrointestinal metagenome is the aggregate of all the genomes of the gut microbiota. The gut is the main location of the human microbiome. The gut microbiota has broad impacts, including effects on colonization, resistance to pathogens, maintaining the intestinal epithelium, metabolizing dietary and pharmaceutical compounds, controlling immune function, and even behavior through the gut–brain axis.
Bacteroides fragilis is an anaerobic, Gram-negative, pleomorphic to rod-shaped bacterium. It is part of the normal microbiota of the human colon and is generally commensal, but can cause infection if displaced into the bloodstream or surrounding tissue following surgery, disease, or trauma.
Dysbiosis is characterized by a disruption to the microbiome resulting in an imbalance in the microbiota, changes in their functional composition and metabolic activities, or a shift in their local distribution. For example, a part of the human microbiota such as the skin flora, gut flora, or vaginal flora, can become deranged (unbalanced), when normally dominating species become underrepresented and species that normally are outcompeted or contained increase to fill the void. Similar to the human gut microbiome, diverse microbes colonize the plant rhizosphere, and dysbiosis in the rhizosphere, can negatively impact plant health. Dysbiosis is most commonly reported as a condition in the gastrointestinal tract or plant rhizosphere.
Fusobacterium nucleatum is a Gram-negative, anaerobic bacterium, commensal to the human oral cavity, that plays a role in periodontal disease. This organism is commonly recovered from different monocultured microbial and mixed infections in humans and animals. In health and disease, it is a key component of periodontal plaque due to its abundance and its ability to coaggregate with other bacteria species in the oral cavity.
Roseburia hominis is a bacterium first isolated from human feces. It is anaerobic, Gram-negative or Gram-variable, slightly curved rod-shaped and motile. The cells range in size from 0.5-1.5 to 5.0 μm. A2-183(T) is the type strain.
The gut–brain axis is the two-way biochemical signaling that takes place between the gastrointestinal tract and the central nervous system (CNS). The term "microbiota–gut–brain axis" highlights the role of gut microbiota in these biochemical signaling. Broadly defined, the gut–brain axis includes the central nervous system, neuroendocrine system, neuroimmune systems, the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis, sympathetic and parasympathetic arms of the autonomic nervous system, the enteric nervous system, vagus nerve, and the gut microbiota.
Clostridioides difficile is a bacterium known for causing serious diarrheal infections, and may also cause colon cancer. It is known also as C. difficile, or C. diff, and is a Gram-positive species of spore-forming bacteria. Clostridioides spp. are anaerobic, motile bacteria, ubiquitous in nature and especially prevalent in soil. Its vegetative cells are rod-shaped, pleomorphic, and occur in pairs or short chains. Under the microscope, they appear as long, irregular cells with a bulge at their terminal ends. Under Gram staining, C. difficile cells are Gram-positive and show optimum growth on blood agar at human body temperatures in the absence of oxygen. C. difficile is catalase- and superoxide dismutase-negative, and produces up to three types of toxins: enterotoxin A, cytotoxin B and Clostridioides difficile transferase. Under stress conditions, the bacteria produce spores that are able to tolerate extreme conditions that the active bacteria cannot tolerate.
Roseburia is a genus of butyrate-producing, Gram-positive anaerobic bacteria that inhabit the human colon. Named in honor of Theodor Rosebury, they are members of the phylum Bacillota.
Christensenella is a genus of non-spore-forming, anaerobic, and nonmotile bacteria from the family Christensenellaceae. They are also part of the order Clostridiales, the class Clostridia and the phylum Firmicutes. Phylogenetic analyzes of 16S rRNA gene sequences are used to describe this family. Due to the recent discovery of the Christensenellaceae family, it was not given importance until a few years ago. This is why very little is known about its ecology and how it may be associated with host factors and other microbiota. However, recent studies establish that members of this family, with exceptions, may be associated with a healthy phenotype for humans. The species C. minuta has been published and validated, and C. timonensis and C. massiliensis have been proposed as novel species of the genus Christensenella, all isolated from human feces.
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Oscillospiraceae, also commonly called Ruminococcaceae, is a family of bacteria in the class Clostridia. All Oscillospiraceae are obligate anaerobes. However, members of the family have diverse shapes, with some rod-shaped and others cocci.
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