Parabacteroides distasonis
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_041342.1
Formerly Bacteroides distasonis.
Among the largest for a gut microbe: longer than 90% of the 2,354 we have genomes for.
Bigger genomes usually carry more tools: it can do 5 of the 13 things we track, more than most gut microbes. See what it can do →
45% G+C, higher than 44% of gut microbes.
To scale: if its ID gene were 1 cm long, its genome would stretch 36 meters. Yours would stretch 21 kilometers. One reference genome; strains vary. NCBI GCF_018279895.1
What it can do
- Can make propionate A short-chain fatty acid, mostly used by the liver.
- 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.
- Mixed evidence Can feed on gut mucus Lives on mucin, the mucus that lines the gut. Published research reports it; genome analysis found it in none of 12 genomes.
Not seen in its genomes: make butyrate, eat resistant starch, eat pectin, 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 12 genomes | — | No papers |
| Can make propionate | Can | 12 of 12 genomes | — | No papers |
| Can make lactic acid | Can | 12 of 12 genomes | — | No papers |
| Can ferment fiber | Can | 12 of 12 genomes | 3 of 4 strains · strip test | Papers say yes |
| Can eat inulin | Can | 12 of 12 genomes | — | Papers say no Species descriptions often rest on the same strip tests, so this doesn't override the genomes. |
| Can eat resistant starch | Not seen | 0 of 12 genomes | — | No papers |
| Can eat pectin | Not seen | 0 of 12 genomes | — | No papers |
| Can use lactose | Can | 12 of 12 genomes | 1 of 1 strain | Papers say yes |
| Can feed on gut mucus | Mixed evidence | 0 of 12 genomes | — | Papers say yes |
| Can change bile acids | Some strains | 1 of 12 genomes | — | No papers |
| Can make B vitamins | Not seen | 0 of 12 genomes | — | No papers |
| Can make hydrogen sulfide | Not seen | 0 of 12 genomes | — | No papers |
| Can make methane | Not seen | 0 of 12 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 80% 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 Parabacteroides distasonis 0.8%
- 2,169 other microbes, each a sliver 55.8%
- 15.6%
On average, 0.8% 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 5 conditions 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 people- COVID-19 As many carry it in people with it Healthy 84% With it 86%
Carriers have about 5 times as much, in 3 of 3 studies (0.11% → 0.52% of their gut microbes).
Recent research
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- Zuojin Pill ameliorates depression with gastrointestinal dysfunction via Parabacteroides distasonis.PubMed ↗
- PubMed ↗
Source: PubMed, U.S. National Library of Medicine · 279 linked papers, last 10 years