Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA.
J Microbiol. 2018 Mar;56(3):199-208. doi: 10.1007/s12275-018-8024-4. Epub 2018 Feb 28.
Mammalian gut microbial communities form intricate mutualisms with their hosts, which have profound implications on overall health. One group of important gut microbial mutualists are bacteria in the genus Ruminococcus, which serve to degrade and convert complex polysaccharides into a variety of nutrients for their hosts. Isolated decades ago from the bovine rumen, ruminococci have since been cultured from other ruminant and non-ruminant sources, and next-generation sequencing has further shown their distribution to be widespread in a diversity of animal hosts. While most ruminococci that have been studied are those capable of degrading cellulose, much less is known about non-cellulolytic, nonruminant-associated species, such as those found in humans. Furthermore, a mechanistic understanding of the role of Ruminococcus spp. in their respective hosts is still a work in progress. This review highlights the broad work done on species within the genus Ruminococcus with respect to their physiology, phylogenetic relatedness, and their potential impact on host health.
哺乳动物肠道微生物群落与其宿主形成复杂的共生关系，这对整体健康有深远的影响。一类重要的肠道微生物共生体是属于瘤胃球菌属的细菌，它们可以将复杂的多糖降解并转化为宿主所需的多种营养物质。瘤胃球菌几十年前从牛瘤胃中分离出来，此后已从其他反刍动物和非反刍动物来源中培养出来，下一代测序进一步表明，它们广泛分布于各种动物宿主中。虽然大多数已经研究过的瘤胃球菌都是能够降解纤维素的，但对于非纤维素分解、非反刍动物相关的物种，如在人类中发现的那些，则知之甚少。此外，对瘤胃球菌属物种在其各自宿主中的作用的机制理解仍在进行中。这篇综述强调了在属内物种的广泛工作，包括它们的生理学、系统发育关系以及它们对宿主健康的潜在影响。
