[Determination of the ecological niche of Bacteroides in the gastrointestinal tract--a study of a model of sterile intestines in germ-free animals].

The interrelations of the population of microorganisms belonging to the genus Bacteroides with the structures of the mucous membrane of the gastrointestinal tract of germ-free guinea pigs and mini-pigs have been studied. A considerable part of the population of these anaerobic microorganisms is associated in some way with the intestinal mucosa; at least, quite a number of these organisms inhabit mucins covering the mucosa. The determination of this ecological niche occupied by bacteroids in the intestinal microbiocenosis suggests that these organisms have considerable influence on the physiological functions and pathological states of the digestive tract.