 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
GammaproteobacteriaRANK: ClassTAXONOMY: cellular organisms -> Bacteria -> Proteobacteria -> Gammaproteobacteria OVERVIEW: 'Gammaproteobacteria' are a class of several medically, ecologically, and scientifically important groups of bacteria. An exceeding number of important pathogens belongs to this class. Like all Proteobacteria, the Gammaproteobacteria are Gram-negative. In a study of 15 patients placed on well-controlled diets in which choline levels were manipulated, Gammaproteobacteria abundance went to zero when dietary choline levels were high in 13 patients. Abundance levels of Gammaproteobacteria were correlated to the percentage change in the liver fat to spleen fat ratio from an ad libitum diet to a choline deficient diet, and showed the strongest correlation. These results suggest that a subject’s baseline levels (ad libitum choline diet) of this taxon predict the degree of subject susceptibility to fatty liver when dietary choline is deficient. Members of this taxa may therefore be involved in choline-sensitive pathways that have implications for host health. [PMCID: PMC3049827]
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||