Oxalobacter formigenes
| Oxalobacter formigenes | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Bacteria |
| Phylum: | Proteobacteria |
| Order: | Burkholderiales |
| Family: | Oxalobacteraceae |
| Genus: | Oxalobacter |
| Species: | O. formigenes |
| Binomial name | |
| Oxalobacter formigenes | |
Oxalobacter formigenes is an oxalate-degrading anaerobic bacterium that colonizes the large intestines of numerous vertebrates, including humans. O. formigenes and humans share a beneficial symbiosis.
Quinolone, a broad-spectrum antibiotic, kills O. formigenes. If a person's gastrointestinal (GI) tract lacks this bacterium, and therefore lacks the primary source for the oxalyl-CoA decarboxylase enzyme, then the GI tract cannot degrade dietary oxalates which on digestion get absorbed easily and after some vitamin B6-modulated partial metabolical degradation in the body, is excreted in the kidney, where it precipitates with calcium to form calcium oxalate kidney stones.[1] [2] [3]
The role and presence of O. formigenes in the human gut is an area of active research.
References
- ↑ (interim reference, describes two other studies)
- ↑ Pearle MS, Goldfarb DS, Assimos DG, et al. (2014). "Medical management of kidney stones: AUA guideline.". J. Urol. 192 (2): 316–324. doi:10.1016/j.juro.2014.05.006. PMID 24857648.
- ↑ Siener R, Rangen U, Sidhu H, et al. (2013). "The role of Oxalobacter formigenes colonization in calcium oxalate stone disease". Kidney Int. 83 (June): 1144–9. doi:10.1038/ki.2013.104. PMID 23536130.