Prevotella copri

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Classification

Higher order taxa

Bacteria; Bacteroidetes/chlorobi group Phylum; Bacteroidetes Class; Bacteroidia Order; Bacteroidales Family; Prevotellaceae Genus: Prevotella (1)

Species

Genus species: Prevotella copri (1)

Description and significance

Prevotella copri is a gram-negative bacteria. The cells are anaerobic and do not form spores. The cells grow best at 37 degree Celsius and are rod shaped.(2) Prevotella copri is an intestinal bacteria, and its anaerobic qualities allows it to grow successfully in the human gut and intestines.(3)

Environment

Environment: Our intestines are home to many different types of microbes. Prevotella copri is one of these many intestinal bacteria. Bacteria in the gut have many different purposes. The bacteria help in the digestion of food as well as help to keep harmful bacteria at bay.(3)

Current Research

Recent studies have shown a correlation between Prevotella copri and the development of rheumatoid arthritis. Although the evidence has not been conclusive it is believed that Prevotella copri causes a reduction of other beneficial microbes. One study done on mice showed that mice with Prevotella copri had more severe disease than the control mice. Prevotella copri has shown to be more prevalent in patients with rheumatoid arthritis than with healthy individuals. Although a definitive link cannot be made to increased Prevotella copri and rheumatoid arthritis, studies are still being conducted to determine what effect Prevotella copri has on this autoimmune disease.(3)

Include information about how this microbe (or related microbes) are being studied and for what purpose

References

(1) Wattam, A.R., D. Abraham, O. Dalay, T.L. Disz, T. Driscoll, J.L. Gabbard, J.J. Gillespie, R. Gough, D. Hix, R. Kenyon, D. Machi, C. Mao, E.K. Nordberg, R. Olson, R. Overbeek, G.D. Pusch, M. Shukla, J. Schulman, R.L. Stevens, D.E. Sullivan, V. Vonstein, A. Warren, R. Will, M.J.C. Wilson, H. Seung Yoo, C. Zhang, Y. Zhang, B.W. Sobral (2014). “PATRIC, the bacterial bioinformatics database and analysis resource.” Nucl Acids Res 42 (D1): D581-D591. doi:10.1093/nar/gkt1099. PMID: 24225323.

(2) Hayashi H., Shibata K., Sakamoto M., Tomita S., Benno Y. (2007). Prevotella copri sp. nov. and Prevotella stercorea sp. nov., isolated from human faeces. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 57, 941–946.

(3) Scher J., Sczesnak A., Longman R., Segata N., Ubeda C., Bielski C., Rostron T., Cerundolo V., Pamer E., Abramson S., Huttenhower C., Littman D. (2013). Expansion of intestinal Prevotella copri with enhanced susceptibility to arthritis. eLife. 2013; 2: e01202. Published online 2013 November 5. doi: 10.7554/eLife.01202

Edited by (Christine Gerry), student of Rachel Larsen at the University of Southern Maine