People fall into one of three groups, when it comes to their gut bacteria

[Hip]

Researchers have found that people fall into one of three groups, or "enterotypes", when it comes to the genetics of the bacterial populations in their guts:

Bacteroides species bacteria - these are known to be good at breaking down carbohydrates.

Prevotella species bacteria - these tend to degrade mucus in the gut, which could conceivably increase gut pain. They also produce more vitamin B1 and folic acid.

Ruminococcus species bacteria - these help cells to absorb sugars (which might contribute to weight gain).

The enterotype group that each individual has in their gut is random, and is not related to a person's genetic makeup.


I wonder if CFS patients would tend to fall into a specific enterotype group, and is so, I wonder whether this might have any bearing on the triggering and development of the CFS condition.

Sources:

Gut types: new key to understanding and improving health?
Bacterial Ecosystems Divide People Into 3 Groups
Gut Type Can Explain Efficiency Of Uptake Of Nutrients And Medicines
Gut study divides people into three types
MyMicrobes: social network connects us through gut bacteria

 

[Nielk]

Hi Hip,

How does one test for which bacteria they have in the gut?

 

[Waverunner]

Very interesting, thanks for the post.

 

[maddietod]

I had a stool culture done by Metametrix (USA), and the results for Ppredominant bacteria" show amounts of 6 "obligate anaerobes," including bacteroides and prevotella. There is no mention of Ruminococcus, so I imagine they don't test for it.

 

[Nielk]

I had a stool culture done by Metametrix (USA), and the results for Ppredominant bacteria" show amounts of 6 "obligate anaerobes," including bacteroides and prevotella. There is no mention of Ruminococcus, so I imagine they don't test for it.

Hi Madie,

What do you do about this if anything?

Thanks,
Nielk

 

[Sushi]

I tested big-time for prevotella--huge overgrowth.

Sushi

 

[Nielk]

I tested big-time for prevotella--huge overgrowth.

Sushi

Hi Sushi,

What do you do to treat this overgrowth?

Thanks,
Nielk

 

[Hip]

Hi Hip,

How does one test for which bacteria they have in the gut?

I presume, at least in principle, you could look at the results of your digestive stool analysis, and see which sort of bacterial species you have present.

The Bacteroides genus contains the bacterial species: Bacteroides fragilis, Bacteroides caccae, Bacteroides distasonis, Bacteroides eggerthii, Bacteroides merdae, Bacteroides ovatus, Bacteroides stercoris, Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, Bacteroides uniformis, Bacteriodes vulgatus.

The Prevotella genus contains the species: Prevotella intermedia, Prevotella albensis, Prevotella baroniae, Prevotella bergensis, Prevotella bivia, Prevotella brevis, Prevotella bryantii, Prevotella buccae, Prevotella buccalis, Prevotella corporis, Prevotella dentalis, Prevotella denticola, Prevotella disiens, Prevotella enoeca, Prevotella genomos, Prevotella C1, Prevotella loescheii, Prevotella marshii, Prevotella melaninogenica, Prevotella multiformis, Prevotella multisaccharivorax, Prevotella nigrescens, Prevotella oralis, Prevotella oris, Prevotellaoulorum, Prevotella pallens, Prevotella ruminicola, Prevotellaruminicola 23, Prevotella aff. ruminicola Tc2-24, Prevotella salivae, Prevotella shahii, Prevotella tannerae, Prevotella veroralis.

The Ruminococcus genus contains the species: Ruminococcus flavefaciens, Ruminococcus albus, Ruminococcus bromii. The Ruminococcus genus is itself part of the Clostridia class of bacteria - which are linked to the gut problems in autism.

(The most common species in each genus has been highlighted on bold).​

However, own gut bacteria, as analyzed by the Comprehensive Digestive Stool Analysis 2.0 from Genova Diagnostics, showed none of the above three genera of bacteria, so I have no idea which of the 3 groups I am in.

The bacterial species that showed in my stool analysis were: alpha hemolytic Streptococcus, gamma hemolytic Streptococcus, Proteus mirabilis, Hemolytic Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Plus my stool analysis showed I had the beneficial bacterial species: Bifidobacterium and Escherichia coli.

I guess Genova Diagnostics, and other stool diagnostic services, only provide details of what they consider are the important species.

I thought it was interesting that these same researchers that identified the 3 bacterial groups have a project that for $2,100, you can have your entire gastrointestinal bacterial microbiota genetically sequenced. I guess you can't get more detailed than that.




OBESITY: There was a similar study also that showed that normal weight people have more Bacteroidetes bacteria in their stomach and intestines, while obese people have more Firmicutes bacteria. Reference: here.

Staphylococcus and Staphylococcus are both Firmicutes.

Note that Bacteroidetes ? Bacteroides. The categories of Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes are phyla, which are much higher up on the taxonomical classification tree than Bacteroides, Prevotella and Ruminococcus, which are genera (genera = the plural of genus).

 

[Sushi]

Hi Sushi,

What do you do to treat this overgrowth?

Thanks,
Nielk

I was given Xifaxin--seemed to work well. Noticed immediate differences in many symptoms--not just gut.

Best,
Sushi