Bifidobacterium bifidum
What's this?
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Its ID gene: the stretch scientists read to tell microbes apart. Each bar is one letter of its DNA. Every species has its own order of letters, so the pattern works like a fingerprint. Close relatives share most of it.
16S rRNA gene, V4 region: the 253 letters between the standard primers (515F/806R), which are the same in every species. One reference sequence; strains can differ by a letter or two. NCBI NR_044771.1
Formerly Actinobacterium bifidum.
Small for a gut microbe: longer than 19% of the 2,354 we have genomes for.
63% G+C, higher than 80% of gut microbes.
To scale: if its ID gene were 1 cm long, its genome would stretch 15 meters. Yours would stretch 21 kilometers. One reference genome; strains vary. NCBI GCF_001025135.1
What it can do
- Can make lactic acid What yogurt bacteria make; other microbes turn it into butyrate.
- Mixed evidence Can make B vitamins Folate, B12, riboflavin and others. Published research reports it; genome analysis found it in none of 8 genomes.
- Can ferment fiber Breaks down dietary fiber that our own enzymes can't.
- Can eat inulin A fiber in onions, garlic, leeks, chicory and bananas (also sold as FOS).
- Mixed evidence Can eat pectin A fiber in apples, citrus and other fruit. Published research reports it; genome analysis found it in none of 8 genomes.
- Can use lactose The sugar in milk and dairy.
Not seen in its genomes: make butyrate, make propionate, eat resistant starch, make hydrogen sulfide, make methane.
All 13 capabilities and their evidence
| Capability | Verdict | Genome analysis | Lab tests | Published research |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Can make butyrate | Not seen | 0 of 8 genomes | — | No papers |
| Can make propionate | Not seen | 0 of 8 genomes | — | No papers |
| Can make lactic acid | Can | 8 of 8 genomes | — | Papers say yes |
| Can ferment fiber | Can | 8 of 8 genomes | 2 of 7 strains · strip test Strip tests often miss fiber-eaters, so this doesn't override the genomes. | Papers say yes |
| Can eat inulin | Can | 8 of 8 genomes | 0 of 4 strains · strip test Strip tests often miss fiber-eaters, so this doesn't override the genomes. | Papers say yes |
| Can eat resistant starch | Not seen | 0 of 8 genomes | — | No papers |
| Can eat pectin | Mixed evidence | 0 of 8 genomes | — | Papers say yes |
| Can use lactose | Can | 8 of 8 genomes | 5 of 5 strains | Papers say yes |
| Can feed on gut mucus | Can | 8 of 8 genomes | — | Papers say yes |
| Can change bile acids | Can | 4 of 8 genomes | — | Papers say yes |
| Can make B vitamins | Mixed evidence | 0 of 8 genomes | — | Papers say yes |
| Can make hydrogen sulfide | Not seen | 0 of 8 genomes | — | No papers |
| Can make methane | Not seen | 0 of 8 genomes | — | No papers |
AGORA2 (Heinken et al. 2023) via VMH, CC BY 4.0 · BacDive (DSMZ), CC BY 4.0 · NJC19 (Lim et al., Scientific Data 2020), CC0
In healthy guts
Found in 28% of healthy people.
- largest Segatella copri 6.2%
- 2nd largest Phocaeicola vulgatus 5.0%
- 3rd largest Faecalibacterium prausnitzii 4.7%
- 4th largest Bacteroides uniformis 3.2%
- 5th largest Agathobacter rectalis 2.5%
- 6th largest Alistipes putredinis 2.3%
- 7th largest Bifidobacterium longum 2.1%
- 8th largest Ruminococcus bromii 1.8%
- top 30 Bifidobacterium bifidum 0.7%
- 2,169 other microbes, each a sliver 56.0%
- 15.6%
On average, 0.7% of the microbes in a healthy gut: among the 30 largest slices.
Every group, drawn the same way. Only some samples record age or sex, so each group says how many people it comes from. Tap one to see it above.
In conditions
Compared with healthy people in the same studies, it’s less common in 1 condition and more common in none. Only studies that had both are counted.
A difference is an association: it doesn’t mean this microbe causes, prevents or treats any of these.
Strongest first, then the biggest gap · Each figure is 10 peopleIn studies of how people live
“Higher” is the study’s measure: on average, a bigger share of gut bacteria across everyone in the group, carriers or not. It isn’t how many people carry it. An association the authors report, measured once per person. It doesn’t mean a diet changes this microbe, or that the microbe affects health.
Recent research
Source: PubMed, U.S. National Library of Medicine · 743 linked papers, last 10 years
Strains studied
How much each strain has been studied in people, not whether it works. Many trials test a strain inside a blend, so those are counted apart, and reviews are summaries of trials, so they're never counted as more trials.
37 strains of B. bifidum are named on product labels. 0 have human trials; 37 have none found yet, including CUL-20, which is in 144 products.
B. bifidum CUL-20
In 144 products →No human trials found yet
B. bifidum Bb-06
In 82 products →No human trials found yet
B. bifidum UABb-10
In 58 products →No human trials found yet
B. bifidum HA-132
In 50 products →No human trials found yet
B. bifidum Bb-02
In 41 products →No human trials found yet
B. bifidum SD-6576
In 20 products →No human trials found yet
B. bifidum BB01
In 19 products →No human trials found yet
B. bifidum G9-1
In 16 products →No human trials found yet
B. bifidum BB-6
In 11 products →No human trials found yet
B. bifidum VPBB-6
In 11 products →No human trials found yet
B. bifidum VP-112
In 10 products →No human trials found yet
B. bifidum VP-113
In 10 products →No human trials found yet
B. bifidum B66B
In 7 products →No human trials found yet
B. bifidum NCIMB 30153
In 6 products →No human trials found yet
B. bifidum SD-5857
In 6 products →No human trials found yet
B. bifidum BB-1
In 5 products →No human trials found yet
B. bifidum SD-6575
In 5 products →No human trials found yet
B. bifidum W23
In 5 products →No human trials found yet
B. bifidum ATCC SD6576
In 4 products →No human trials found yet
B. bifidum BB-2
In 4 products →No human trials found yet
B. bifidum DSM 22892
In 4 products →No human trials found yet
B. bifidum BF210
In 3 products →No human trials found yet
B. bifidum Rosell-71
In 3 products →No human trials found yet
B. bifidum ST1722
In 3 products →No human trials found yet
B. bifidum VPro51
In 3 products →No human trials found yet
B. bifidum A910
In 2 products →No human trials found yet
B. bifidum ATCC SD6869
In 2 products →No human trials found yet
B. bifidum CUL 73
In 2 products →No human trials found yet
B. bifidum MF 20
In 2 products →No human trials found yet
B. bifidum PXN 23
In 2 products →No human trials found yet
B. bifidum ATCC 15696
In 1 product →No human trials found yet
B. bifidum BBi32
In 1 product →No human trials found yet
B. bifidum MAK53B66B
In 1 product →No human trials found yet
B. bifidum NI311
In 1 product →No human trials found yet
B. bifidum SGBX-17
In 1 product →No human trials found yet
B. bifidum VP-84
In 1 product →No human trials found yet
B. bifidum VP-88
In 1 product →No human trials found yet
Human trials, meta-analyses and systematic reviews naming the strain · animal and lab studies not counted · Data sources