Footnotes

• Contributors VE cultured and lyophilised the strain and initiated the animal study. FVI had the original idea and designed the study together with VE, RD, BS and SV. All authors were involved in the interpretation of results and the critical revision of this letter.

• Funding This research received a specific grant from Institute of Science and Technology, Flanders, grant number: contract no SBO-100016.

• Competing interests V Eeckhaut, B Sas, R Ducatelle and F Van Immerseel are listed as co-inventors on a patent application for the use of butyrate-producing bacterial strains related to Butyricicoccus pullicaecorum in the prevention and/or treatment of intestinal health problems (International Application Number PCT/EP2010/052184 and International Publication Number WO2010/ 094789 A1).

• Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; internally peer reviewed.