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Christensenella minutaRANK: SpeciesTAXONOMY: Terrabacteria group -> Firmicutes -> Clostridia -> Clostridiales -> Christensenellaceae -> Christensenella -> Christensenella minuta OVERVIEW: C. minuta is found in higher concentrations in lean people.The bacterium Christensenella minuta, a type of naturally-occurring bacteria in the stomach could fight off quick weight gain that usually leads to obesity. Christensenella also seems to sit at the centre of a large network of microbes; if it’s there, these others are likely to show up too. And it influences our weight: it’s more common in lean people, and it can reduce weight gain in mice. Christensenella often co-exists with an entourage of other microbes, including other mystery groups that haven’t been properly named. Their concurrence might be coincidence: the same genes could be selecting for many microbes independently. Alternatively, the entourage might actually be partners, producing nutrients that nourish each other. Either way, they form a consistent social network with Christensenella at its core. 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]
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