Propionibacterium freudenreichii
What's this?
- T
- G
- A
- C
- T
- T
- G
- A
- G
- G
- A
- A
- T
- G
- T
- A
- G
- G
- G
- G
- A
- G
- A
- A
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_036972.1
Formerly Propionicibacterium freudenreichii.
Small for a gut microbe: longer than 34% of the 2,354 we have genomes for.
67% G+C, higher than 91% of gut microbes.
To scale: if its ID gene were 1 cm long, its genome would stretch 18 meters. Yours would stretch 21 kilometers. One reference genome; strains vary. NCBI GCF_000940845.1
What it can do
- Can make propionate A short-chain fatty acid, mostly used by the liver.
- Can make B vitamins Folate, B12, riboflavin and others.
- Can use lactose The sugar in milk and dairy.
Not seen in its genomes or lab tests: make butyrate, make lactic acid, ferment fiber, eat inulin, eat resistant starch, eat pectin, feed on gut mucus, change bile acids, 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 2 genomes | — | No papers |
| Can make propionate | Can | 2 of 2 genomes | — | Papers say yes |
| Can make lactic acid | Not seen | 0 of 2 genomes | — | No papers |
| Can ferment fiber | Not seen | 0 of 2 genomes | 0 of 8 strains · strip test | No papers |
| Can eat inulin | Not seen | 0 of 2 genomes | 0 of 3 strains · strip test | No papers |
| Can eat resistant starch | Not seen | 0 of 2 genomes | — | No papers |
| Can eat pectin | Not seen | 0 of 2 genomes | — | No papers |
| Can use lactose | Can | 2 of 2 genomes | 2 of 6 strains | Papers say yes |
| Can feed on gut mucus | Not seen | 0 of 2 genomes | — | No papers |
| Can change bile acids | Not seen | 0 of 2 genomes | — | No papers |
| Can make B vitamins | Can | 2 of 2 genomes | — | Papers say yes |
| Can make hydrogen sulfide | Not seen | 0 of 2 genomes | — | No papers |
| Can make methane | Not seen | 0 of 2 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 1.1% 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%
- Propionibacterium freudenreichii 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.
In conditions
Compared with healthy people in the same studies, it’s less common in none 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.
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.
Recent research
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.
2 strains of P. freudenreichii are named on product labels. 0 have human trials; 2 have none found yet, including HA-182, which is in 10 products.
P. freudenreichii HA-182
In 10 products →No human trials found yet
P. freudenreichii MAK10P23F
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