Bacteroidetes Information & Bacteroidetes Links at HealthHaven.com

Bacteroidetes
Scientific classification
Domain:	Bacteria;
Phylum:	Bacteroidetes;
Classes
	Bacteroidetes; Flavobacteriaceae; Flexibacteraceae; Rhodothermus; Sphingobacterium;

The phylum Bacteroidetes is composed of three large classes of bacteria that are widely distributed in the environment, including in soil, in sediments, sea water and in the guts and on the skin of animals.

By far, the Bacteroidales class are the most well-studied, including the genus Bacteroides (an abundant organism in the feces of warm-blooded animals including humans), and Porphyromonas, a group of organisms inhabiting the human oral cavity.

Members of the genus Bacteroides are opportunistic pathogens. Rarely are members of the other two classes pathogenic to humans.

Researcher Jeffrey Gordon and his colleagues found that obese humans and mice had intestinal flora (gut flora) with a lower percentage of Bacteroidetes and relatively more bacteria from the Firmicutes family. However, they are unsure if Bacteroidetes prevent obesity or if these intestinal flora are merely preferentially selected by intestinal conditions in those who are not obese.^[1]^[2]^[3]

[edit] References

^ Ley R, Bäckhed F, Turnbaugh P, Lozupone C, Knight R, Gordon J (2005). "Obesity alters gut microbial ecology". Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 102 (31): 11070–5. doi:10.1073/pnas.0504978102. PMID 16033867.
^ Ley R, Turnbaugh P, Klein S, Gordon J (2006). "Microbial ecology: human gut microbes associated with obesity". Nature 444 (7122): 1022–3. doi:10.1038/4441022a. PMID 17183309.
^ Turnbaugh P, Ley R, Mahowald M, Magrini V, Mardis E, Gordon J (2006). "An obesity-associated gut microbiome with increased capacity for energy harvest". Nature 444 (7122): 1027–31. doi:10.1038/nature05414. PMID 17183312.

[edit] External links

Borenstein S (2006-12-21). "scientists link weight to gut bacteria". Sci-Tech Today. http://www.sci-tech-today.com/story.xhtml?story_id=110002BRSOJY. Retrieved 2007-02-09.

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[Gordon_2005-0] Ley R, Bäckhed F, Turnbaugh P, Lozupone C, Knight R, Gordon J (2005). "Obesity alters gut microbial ecology". Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 102 (31): 11070–5. doi:10.1073/pnas.0504978102. PMID 16033867.

[Ley_2006-1] Ley R, Turnbaugh P, Klein S, Gordon J (2006). "Microbial ecology: human gut microbes associated with obesity". Nature 444 (7122): 1022–3. doi:10.1038/4441022a. PMID 17183309.

[Turnbaugh_2006-2] Turnbaugh P, Ley R, Mahowald M, Magrini V, Mardis E, Gordon J (2006). "An obesity-associated gut microbiome with increased capacity for energy harvest". Nature 444 (7122): 1027–31. doi:10.1038/nature05414. PMID 17183312.

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