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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Ames, Iowa » National Animal Disease Center » Food Safety and Enteric Pathogens Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #341555
Research Project: Intestinal Microbial Ecology and Metagenomic Strategies to Reduce Antibiotic Resistance and Foodborne Pathogens

Location: Food Safety and Enteric Pathogens Research

Title: Butyricicoccus porcorum sp. nov. a butyrate-producing bacterium from swine intestinal tract

Author
item TRACHSEL, JULIAN - Iowa State University
item Humphrey, Samuel
item Allen, Heather

Submitted to: International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/22/2018
Publication Date: 5/20/2018
Citation: Trachsel, J., Humphrey, S.B., Allen, H.K. 2018. Butyricicoccus porcorum sp. nov. a butyrate-producing bacterium from swine intestinal tract. International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. 68:1737-1742. https://doi.org/10.1099/ijsem.0.002738.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1099/ijsem.0.002738

Interpretive Summary: Over 500 species of bacteria reside in the mammalian gastrointestinal tract, many of which have not been cultured. Isolating bacteria in culture is the most important way to learn how they function, to define their interactions, and to detect them in additional environments. Here we present a new bacterium that we isolated from the swine intestinal tract and named Butyricicoccus porcorum. We defined this strain morphologically, metabolically, and genomically, and compared it with its previously defined relatives. This strain is of potential importance for gut health because it produces butyrate, which has been shown to enhance gut health. Additionally, the results show that this species can be detected in the intestinal tract of mammals worldwide. These data are important for stakeholders who are interested in defining the beneficial bacterial communities of animals. The definition of this new bacterial species will enable researchers worldwide to identify this bacterium in their samples.

Technical Abstract: A Gram positive, non-motile, butyrate-producing cocci was cultured from the distal ileum of swine. This organism was isolated on rumen fluid medium, consumes acetate, and produces butyrate as its major end product. A phylogenetic analysis based on full-length 16S rRNA gene sequences as well as whole-genome phylogenies suggests that this isolate is most closely related to species in the genus Butyricicoccus, with B. pullicaecorum being the closest named relative (93.5 percent 16S identity). The G plus C content of this isolate is 54 mol percent, and the major cellular fatty acids are C16:0, C18:0, C14:0, C15:0-anteiso, and C15:0-iso. These data indicate that this isolate represents a novel species within the genus Butyricicoccus, for which we propose the name Butyricicoccus porcorum sp. nov. The type strain of Butyricicoccus porcorum is BB10T (ATCC XXXXXT, DSMZ XXXXXT).