Bacteroides finegoldii
Classification
Higher order taxa
Bacteria; Bacteroidetes (phylum); Bacteroidetes (class); Bacteroidales (order); Bacteroidaceae (family); Bacteroides (genus)
Species
Bacteroides finegoldii
Relatedness to other species in the Bacteroides genus
16S rRNA gene sequence similarities show that B. finegoldii's closest neighbors are Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron and Bacteroides ovatus.
Characteristics
General Background
Bacteroides finegoldii is a strictly anaerobic, Gram-negative rod bacteria that occurs in human feces.
Morphology
Bacteroides finegoldii is non-spore-forming, non-motile, Gram-negative rod bacteria, about 0.80 µm wide and 1.5-4.5 µm long and occuring singly.
Molecular structure
The major fatty acids are anteiso-C15:0 (31.8–36.2%) and iso- C17:0 3-OH (13.1–14.5%). The DNA G+C content is 42.4–43.0 mol%.
Metabolism
The optimum temperature for growth is about 37 C. B. finegoldii produces acid from the metabolism of glucose, lactose, sucrose, maltose, salicin, xylose, arabinose, cellobiose, mannose, raffinose and rhamnose. The bacteria grows in the presence of bile.
Current Research
As Bacteroides finegoldii is found in the feces of humans, it has been the subject of several recent research projects investigating the stool microbome and metabolome. Specifically, research is trying to differentiate between the stool microbiome and metabolome of colorectal cancer patients and healthy adults as well as identifying the microbes involved in inflammatory bowel disease in children and young adults.
References
Edited by (Jenna Lane), student of Rachel Larsen at the University of Southern Maine
