Lachnoclostridium phytofermentans
What's this?
- T
- T
- A
- C
- T
- A
- G
- A
- G
- T
- G
- C
- A
- G
- G
- A
- G
- A
- G
- G
- T
- A
- A
- G
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_074652.1
Formerly Clostridium phytofermentans.
Large for a gut microbe: longer than 83% of the 2,354 we have genomes for.
35% G+C, higher than 12% of gut microbes.
To scale: if its ID gene were 1 cm long, its genome would stretch 32 meters. Yours would stretch 21 kilometers. One reference genome; strains vary. NCBI GCF_000018685.1
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 pectin A fiber in apples, citrus and other fruit.
- Can use lactose The sugar in milk and dairy.
All 13 capabilities and their evidence
| Capability | Verdict | Genome analysis | Lab tests | Published research |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Can make lactic acid | Can | — | — | Papers say yes |
| Can ferment fiber | Can | — | 1 of 1 strain · strip test | Papers say yes |
| Can eat pectin | Can | — | 1 of 1 strain · strip test | No papers |
| Can use lactose | Can | — | 1 of 1 strain | Papers say yes |
| Can make butyrate | Not checked | — | — | No papers |
| Can make propionate | Not checked | — | — | No papers |
| Can eat inulin | Not checked | — | — | No papers |
| Can eat resistant starch | 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
Found in under 1% 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%
- Lachnoclostridium phytofermentans under 0.01%
- 2,169 other microbes, each a sliver 56.7%
- 15.6%
On average, a sliver, under 0.01% of the microbes in a healthy gut.
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.