Bacteroides intestinalis
Classification
Higher order taxa
Bacteria; Bacteroidetes; Bacteroidia; Bacteroidales; Bacteroidaceae; Bacteroides
Species
intestinalis
Description
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. Simple sugars such as glucose, lactose, sucrose, maltose, xylose, arabinose, cellobiose, mannose, as well as polysaccharides such as raffinose and rhamnose are metabolized creating an acid as a biproduct.
Discovery
Bacteria was obtained from human feces, and polyamine production was tested by growing the acquired gut bacteria on a polyamine deficient media. This permitted the isolation of five strains able to synthesize polyamines. One of the five isolated species was Bacteroides intestinalis, a novel species, discovered and named in 2006. Biochemical tests revealed this species is most closely related to Bacteroides uniformis and Bacteroides helcogenes.
Current Research
describe one or two topics of research on this microbe
References
Edited by (Amanda Hayes), student of Rachel Larsen at the University of Southern Maine
