Isoptericola variabilis
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_025439.1
Formerly Cellulosimicrobium variabile.
Large for a gut microbe: longer than 78% of the 2,354 we have genomes for.
74% G+C, higher than 100% of gut microbes.
To scale: if its ID gene were 1 cm long, its genome would stretch 30 meters. Yours would stretch 21 kilometers. One reference genome; strains vary. NCBI GCF_054654115.1
What it can do
- Can ferment fiber Breaks down dietary fiber that our own enzymes can't.
- Can use lactose The sugar in milk and dairy.
Not seen in its lab tests: eat inulin.
All 13 capabilities and their evidence
| Capability | Verdict | Genome analysis | Lab tests | Published research |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Can ferment fiber | Can | — | 1 of 1 strain · strip test | No papers |
| Can eat inulin | Not seen | — | 0 of 1 strain · strip test | No papers |
| Can use lactose | Can | — | 1 of 1 strain | No papers |
| Can make butyrate | Not checked | — | — | No papers |
| Can make propionate | Not checked | — | — | No papers |
| Can make lactic acid | Not checked | — | — | No papers |
| Can eat resistant starch | Not checked | — | — | No papers |
| Can eat pectin | Not checked | — | — | No papers |
| Can feed on gut mucus | Not checked | — | — | No papers |
| Can change bile acids | Not checked | — | — | No papers |
| Can make B vitamins | Not checked | — | — | No papers |
| Can make hydrogen sulfide | Not checked | — | — | No papers |
| Can make methane | Not checked | — | — | 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
In conditions
In 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.