Merdimonas faecis
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_157642.1
Mid-sized for a gut microbe: longer than 54% of the 2,354 we have genomes for.
47% G+C, higher than 48% of gut microbes.
To scale: if its ID gene were 1 cm long, its genome would stretch 22 meters. Yours would stretch 21 kilometers. One reference genome; strains vary. NCBI GCF_001754075.1
What it can do
Not seen in its lab tests: ferment fiber, use lactose.
All 13 capabilities and their evidence
| Capability | Verdict | Genome analysis | Lab tests | Published research |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Can ferment fiber | Not seen | — | 0 of 1 strain · strip test | No papers |
| Can use lactose | Not seen | — | 0 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 inulin | 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
Found in 9.2% 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 15% Merdimonas faecis 0.01%
- 2,169 other microbes, each a sliver 56.7%
- 15.6%
On average, 0.01% of the microbes in a healthy gut: larger than 85% 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 1 condition. 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 people