Fusobacterium prausnitzii and Related Species Represent a Dominant Group Within the Human Fecal Flora

doi:10.1078/0723-2020-00015

Systematic and Applied Microbiology

Volume 24, Issue 1, 2001, Pages 139-145

https://doi.org/10.1078/0723-2020-00015 Get rights and content

Summary

The human gut microflora plays a key role in nutrition and health. It has been extensively studied by conventional culture techniques. However these methods are difficult, time consuming and their results not always consistent. Furthermore microscopic counts indicate that only 20 to 40% of the total flora can be cultivated. Among the predominant species of the human gut, Fusobacterium prausnitzii was reported either as one of the most frequent and numerous species or was seldom retrieved. We designed and validated a specific rRNA-targeted oligonucleotide probe, called S-*-Fprau-0645-a-A-23, to accurately detect and quantify F. prausnitzii and relatives within the human fecal microflora. The target group accounted for 5.3 3% of total bacterial 16S rRNA using dot blot hybridization (10 human fecal samples) and 16.5 ± 7% of cells stained with Dapi using in situ hybridization (10 other human fecal samples). A specific morphology seemed to be typical and dominant: two cells forming an asymmetrical double droplet. This work showed that F. prausnitzii and phylogenetically related species represent a dominant group within the human fecal flora.

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Fusobacterium prausnitzii and Related Species Represent a Dominant Group Within the Human Fecal Flora

Summary

Syst. Appl. Microbiol.

J. Nutr.

Syst. Appl. Microbiol.

The oligonucleotide probe database

Appl. Environ. Microbiol.

Fluorescentoligonucleotide probing of whole cells for determinative, phylogenetic, and environmental studies in microbiology

J. Bacteriol.

Phylogenetic relationships of butyrate-producing bacteria from the human gut

Appl. Environ. Microbiol.

The phylogeny of the genus Clostridium: proposal of five new genera and eleven new species combinations

Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol.

Role of experimental microbial ecology in gastroenterology

Variations of bacterial populations in human feces measured by fluorescent in situ hybridization with group-specific 16S rRNA-targeted oligonucleotide probes

Appl. Environ. Microbiol.

Molecular microbial diversity of an anaerobic digestor as determined by small-subunit rDNA sequence analysis

Appl. Environ. Microbiol.

Quantitative fluorescence in situ hybridization of Bifidobacterium spp. with genus-specific 16S rRNA-targeted probes and its application in fecal samples

Appl. Environ. Microbiol.

Differential carbohydrate media and anaerobic replica plating techniques in delineating carbohydrate-utilizing subgroups in rumen bacterial populations

Appl. Environ. Microbiol.

The RDP-II (Ribosomal database project)

Nucleic Acids Res.