Enterococcus faecium
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 252 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_042054.1
Formerly Streptococcus faecium.
Mid-sized for a gut microbe: longer than 43% of the 2,354 we have genomes for.
38% G+C, higher than 20% of gut microbes.
To scale: if its ID gene were 1 cm long, its genome would stretch 19 meters. Yours would stretch 21 kilometers. One reference genome; strains vary. NCBI GCF_009734005.1
What it can do
- Can make lactic acid What yogurt bacteria make; other microbes turn it into butyrate.
- 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).
- Can use lactose The sugar in milk and dairy.
- Can change bile acids Modifies the bile acids the liver makes to digest fat. 1 of 189 strains can
Not seen in its genomes: make butyrate, make propionate, eat resistant starch, eat pectin, feed on gut mucus, make B vitamins, 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 189 genomes | — | No papers |
| Can make propionate | Not seen | 0 of 189 genomes | — | No papers |
| Can make lactic acid | Can | 189 of 189 genomes | — | No papers |
| Can ferment fiber | Can | 188 of 189 genomes | 26 of 141 strains · strip test Strip tests often miss fiber-eaters, so this doesn't override the genomes. | No papers |
| Can eat inulin | Can | 188 of 189 genomes | 0 of 66 strains · strip test Strip tests often miss fiber-eaters, so this doesn't override the genomes. | No papers |
| Can eat resistant starch | Not seen | 0 of 189 genomes | — | No papers |
| Can eat pectin | Not seen | 0 of 189 genomes | — | No papers |
| Can use lactose | Can | 189 of 189 genomes | 140 of 142 strains | No papers |
| Can feed on gut mucus | Not seen | 0 of 189 genomes | — | No papers |
| Can change bile acids | Some strains | 1 of 189 genomes | — | No papers |
| Can make B vitamins | Not seen | 0 of 189 genomes | — | No papers |
| Can make hydrogen sulfide | Not seen | 0 of 189 genomes | — | No papers |
| Can make methane | Not seen | 0 of 189 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 5.4% 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 10% Enterococcus faecium 0.03%
- 2,169 other microbes, each a sliver 56.6%
- 15.6%
On average, 0.03% of the microbes in a healthy gut: larger than 90% of species’ 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 none and more common in 5 conditions. 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 peopleRecent research
Source: PubMed, U.S. National Library of Medicine · 1,074 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.
6 strains of E. faecium are named on product labels. 0 have human trials; 6 have none found yet, including Rosell 26, which is in 4 products.
E. faecium Rosell 26
In 4 products →No human trials found yet
E. faecium W54
In 4 products →No human trials found yet
E. faecium TH-10
In 3 products →No human trials found yet
E. faecium VPro21
In 3 products →No human trials found yet
E. faecium R0026
In 1 product →No human trials found yet
E. faecium T-110
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