Faecalibacterium

Faecalibacterium
Scientific classification
Domain:	Bacteria
Class:	Clostridia
Order:	Clostridiales
Family:	Clostridiaceae
Genus:	Faecalibacterium
Type species
Faecalibacterium prausnitzii

Faecalibacterium is a genus of bacteria. Its sole known species, Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, is an important commensal bacterium of the human gut flora which synthesizes butyrate and other short-chain fatty acids through the fermentation of dietary fiber.^[1] Formerly considered to be a member of Fusobacterium, the bacterium is named in honor of German bacteriologist Otto Prausnitz.

Clinical relevance

In healthy adults, Faecalibacterium prausnitzii represent more than 5% of the bacteria in the intestine, making it one of the most common gut bacteria.^[2] Lower than usual levels of F. prausnitzii in the intestines have been associated with Crohn's Disease, obesity, asthma and Major Depressive Disorder. ^[3][4][5][6]

References

1. Khan MT, Duncan SH, Stams AJ, van Dijl JM, Flint HJ, Harmsen HJ (2012). "The gut anaerobe Faecalibacterium prausnitzii uses an extracellular electron shuttle to grow at oxic-anoxic interphases". ISME J. 6 (8): 1578–85. doi:10.1038/ismej.2012.5. PMC 3400418. PMID 22357539.
2. Miquel, S; Martín, R; Rossi, O; Bermúdez-Humarán, LG; Chatel, JM; Sokol, H; Thomas, M; Wells, JM; Langella, P (2013). "Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and human intestinal health". Current Opinion in Microbiology. 16 (3): 255–61. doi:10.1016/j.mib.2013.06.003. PMID 23831042.
3. "Faecalibacterium prausnitzii is an anti-inflammatory commensal bacterium identified by gut microbiota analysis of Crohn disease patients". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. September 8, 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-21.
4. "Bacterium 'to blame for Crohn's'". BBC News. 2008-10-21. Retrieved 2008-10-21.
5. Newton, Ryan J.; McLellan, Sandra L.; Dila, Deborah K.; Vineis, Joseph H.; Morrison, Hilary G.; Eren, A. Murat; Sogin, Mitchell L. (2015). "Sewage Reflects the Microbiomes of Human Populations". MBio. 6 (2): e02574–14. doi:10.1128/mBio.02574-14. PMC 4358014. PMID 25714718.
6. Jiang H, Ling Z, Zhang Y, Mao H, Ma Z, Yin Y, Wang W, Tang W, Tan Z, Shi J, Li L, Ruan B (April 13, 2015). "Altered fecal microbiota composition in patients with major depressive disorder.". Brain Behav. Immun. NCBI. 48: 186–94. doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2015.03.016. PMID 25882912.