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Bacteroides intestinalisRANK: SpeciesTAXONOMY: Bacteroidetes/Chlorobi group -> Bacteroidetes -> Bacteroidia -> Bacteroidales -> Bacteroidaceae -> Bacteroides -> Bacteroides intestinalis OVERVIEW: Bacteroides intestinalis are rod shaped, gram negative, anaerobic cells. They are not motile, nor do they form spores. The cells occur singly (approximately 0.8 µm wide and 1-5 µm long), but after approximately two days, transluscent-whitish colonies (raised, circular, and 1-3 mm in diameter) will form. They grow optimally at 37 degrees Celsius, consistent with human body temperature. Monosaccharides, disaccharides, and polysaccharides such as glucose, lactose, sucrose, maltose, xylose, arabinose, cellobiose, mannose, raffinose and rhamnose are metabolized creating an acid as a biproduct. Bacteroides intestinalis, a member of the phylum Bacteroidetes, was first discovered in human feces. Gut microbes in humans outnumber somatic and germline cells by a factor of ten. There are trillions of microbes present, and in healthy individuals, once a species is present, it stays for decades or longer. Some microbiologists believe that sequencing and monitoring the gut microbiome from year to year may be helpful in the future of medicine. It is hypothesized that gut bacteria contribute to the pathophysiology of obesity. Bacteriodetes are prevalent in gut bacteria and tend to make up a higher percentage of the gut bacteria in healthy weight people compared to obese people. This species has been identified as a resident in the human gastrointestinal tract based on the phylogenetic framework of its small subunit ribosomal RNA gene sequences.[PMC 4262072] |