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Butyrate-producing bacteria are promising probiotic candidates to target microbial dysbiosis in gastrointestinal disorders like inflammatory bowel diseases. Butyricicoccus pullicaecorum 25-3(T), a butyrate-producing clostridial cluster IV strain, is such a candidate. Little is known about its abundance in the colon microbiota and its butyrogenic properties. We used the M-SHIME(®), an in vitro simulator for the human intestinal microbial ecosystem, to study the effect of supplementing a single dose of B. pullicaecorum 25-3(T) on lumen- and mucus-associated microbiota of eight individuals. Butyricicoccus pullicaecorum was more abundant in mucus-associated microbiota compared with lumen microbiota. Supplementation with a single dose of B. pullicaecorum 25-3(T) resulted in a temporary increase in B. pullicaecorum bacteria in lumen compartment of all individuals. In two cases, the responders, an increased butyrate production was observed as compared with the control. 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing revealed the microbiota of responders to be different as compared to non-responder microbiota. We can conclude that B. pullicaecorum 25-3(T) is a mucus-associated bacterium whose potency to stimulate butyrate production is characterized by a large interindividual variability in terms of composition of the receiving microbial community., (© FEMS 2015. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Butyrate has several beneficial properties that are essential to maintain gastrointestinal health. Therefore butyrate-producing bacteria are seen as the next generation of probiotics. The butyrate-producing bacterium Butyricicoccus pullicaecorum (a clostridial cluster IV strain) is such a promising probiotic candidate for people suffering from inflammatory bowel disease. To exert its beneficial properties, it is crucial that B. pullicaecorum survives the harsh conditions of the upper gastrointestinal tract to arrive in the colon in a viable and metabolically active state. Before developing a stable formulation of B. pullicaecorum for oral administration, it is important to know its intrinsic acid and bile tolerance. We monitored the survival during and short chain fatty acid production after incubation in conditions simulating the stomach and small intestine using in vitro batch experiments. In case of acid conditions (pH 2 and pH 3), B. pullicaecorum was viable and active but not cultivable. Cultivability was restored during subsequent small intestine conditions. Importantly, bile and pancreatic juice had no lethal effect. Milk, as a suspension medium, only had a protective effect on the cultivability during the first hour at pH 2. B. pullicaecorum was still metabolically active after upper gastrointestinal conditions and produced short chain fatty acids, but a shift from butyrate to acetate production was observed. Although the butyrate-producing anaerobe B. pullicaecorum showed good intrinsic acid and bile tolerance in terms of viability and metabolic activity, colonization efficiency and butyrate production under colon conditions is needed to further evaluate its probiotic potential., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Sixteen butyrate-producing bacteria were isolated from the caecal content of chickens and analysed phylogenetically. They did not represent a coherent phylogenetic group, but were allied to four different lineages in the Firmicutes phylum. Fourteen strains appeared to represent novel species, based on a level of ≤ 98.5% 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity towards their nearest validly named neighbours. The highest butyrate concentrations were produced by the strains belonging to clostridial clusters IV and XIVa, clusters which are predominant in the chicken caecal microbiota. In only one of the 16 strains tested, the butyrate kinase operon could be amplified, while the butyryl-CoA:acetate CoA-transferase gene was detected in eight strains belonging to clostridial clusters IV, XIVa and XIVb. None of the clostridial cluster XVI isolates carried this gene based on degenerate PCR analyses. However, another CoA-transferase gene more similar to propionate CoA-transferase was detected in the majority of the clostridial cluster XVI isolates. Since this gene is located directly downstream of the remaining butyrate pathway genes in several human cluster XVI bacteria, it may be involved in butyrate formation in these bacteria. The present study indicates that butyrate producers related to cluster XVI may play a more important role in the chicken gut than in the human gut., (© 2011 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2011 Society for Applied Microbiology and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.)

Four butyrate-producing isolates were obtained from the caecal content of a 4-week-old broiler chicken. The 16S rRNA gene sequences were determined and confirmed the close relatedness of the four isolates, which suggested that they were derived from a single bacterial clone. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that its closest relatives were members of cluster XIVa of the Clostridium subphylum of Gram-positive bacteria and that the closest related type strain was Anaerostipes caccae L1-92(T) (94.5 % similarity). Similarity levels of 96-98 % with sequences from uncultured bacteria from human stool samples were observed. On the basis of morphological, biochemical and phylogenetic characteristics, this strain is assigned to a novel species in the genus Anaerostipes, for which the name Anaerostipes butyraticus sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is 35-7(T) (=LMG 24724(T) =DSM 22094(T)). An emended description of the genus Anaerostipes is also provided.

Five isolates that produced large amounts of butyrate were obtained in the course of a study on the butyrate-producing microbiota from the caecal content of a 4-week-old broiler chicken. The five isolates were virtually indistinguishable in biochemical and genetic terms, suggesting that they were derived from a single bacterial clone colonizing this habitat. A phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences demonstrated that the five isolates represented a unique lineage within the Clostridium leptum subgroup of the clostridia, with Eubacterium desmolans as the closest phylogenetic neighbour (about 93 % similarity). These data indicate that the five novel isolates represent a single novel species within a novel genus, for which we propose the name Butyricicoccus pullicaecorum gen. nov., sp. nov. The type strain of Butyricicoccus pullicaecorum is 25-3(T) (=LMG 24109(T) =CCUG 55265(T)). The DNA G+C content of strain 25-3(T) was 54.5 mol% .

Background: High protein diets shift the faecal microbiota into a more unfavourable composition in obese humans. In lean dogs, higher protein consumption is accompanied with increased production of putrefactive fermentation products, whereas obese dogs have a different gut microbiota compared to lean dogs. Still, the impact of high dietary protein on gut microbiota in obese dogs remains unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate faecal microbial changes in lean and obese dogs in response to two different levels of dietary protein. Six healthy lean and six obese Beagles were fed a high protein diet (HP) and a low protein diet (LP) for 28 days each in a crossover design. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and quantitative PCR were performed on faecal samples for microbial profiling. Plasma acylcarnitine and fermentation metabolites were measured. Results: Dogs fed HP had higher concentrations of protein fermentation metabolites including faecal ammonia, isovalerate, isobutyrate, phenol, indole, serum indoxyl sulphate and plasma 3-OH isovalerylcarnitine compared to dogs fed LP, whereas no changes in faecal concentrations of acetate and butyrate were observed. The abundances of clostridial clusters IV and XIVa, covering the majority of butyrate-producing bacteria, and of the butyrate kinase gene, one of the terminal genes of the butyrate synthesis pathway were higher in dogs on HP compared to LP. Significant interactions between diet and body condition were found for the abundance of Firmicutes, Lactobacillus and clostridial cluster I. The similarity coefficient of faecal microbiota between the two diets was smaller in obese dogs than in lean dogs. Conclusions: High protein diet increased the abundance and activity of butyrate-producing bacteria in Beagles independent of the body condition. In addition, increasing dietary protein content had a greater overall impact on faecal microbiota in obese compared to lean dogs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Butyrate-producing bacteria are promising probiotic candidates to target microbial dysbiosis in gastrointestinal disorders like inflammatory bowel diseases. Butyricicoccus pullicaecorum 25-3T, a butyrate-producing clostridial cluster IV strain, is such a candidate. Little is known about its abundance in the colon microbiota and its butyrogenic properties. We used the M-SHIMER® , an in vitro simulator for the human intestinal microbial ecosystem, to study the effect of supplementing a single dose of B. pullicaecorum 25-3T on lumen- and mucus-associated microbiota of eight individuals. Butyricicoccus pullicaecorum was more abundant in mucus-associated microbiota compared with lumen microbiota. Supplementation with a single dose of B. pullicaecorum 25-3T resulted in a temporary increase in B. pullicaecorum bacteria in lumen compartment of all individuals. In two cases, the responders, an increased butyrate production was observed as compared with the control. 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing revealed the microbiota of responders to be different as compared to non-responder microbiota. We can conclude that B. pullicaecorum 25-3T is a mucus-associated bacterium whose potency to stimulate butyrate production is characterized by a large interindividual variability in terms of composition of the receiving microbial community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A response from the authors of the article "Butyricicoccus pullicaecorum in inflammatory bowel disease" that was published in the 2013 issue is presented.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic inflammation of the digestive tract, characterized by dysbiosis of the intestinal microbiota. Probiotics have been suggested as a strategy to reduce active disease or extend remission. We isolated and characterized the butyrate-producing strain Butyricicoccus pullicaecorum 25-3 T and identified it as a potential probiotic for patients with IBD. To evaluate the safety of 25-3 T for use in humans, we conducted a standard acute oral toxicity test and a 28-day repeated oral dose toxicity test. The complete genome of B. pullicaecorum 25-3 T was sequenced to search for virulence factors and antibiotic resistance determinants. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 21 antimicrobials was determined. Results showed no adverse effects in the oral toxicity tests. B. pullicaecorum 25-3 T is resistant against aminoglycosides and trimethoprim. The genome of 25-3 T contains no virulence factors, one gene related to harmful metabolites and 52 sequences with high similarity to antimicrobial and toxic compound resistance genes, that did not correspond with a resistant phenotype. This first report of a safety assessment of a butyrate-producing strain from Clostridium cluster IV shows that B. pullicaecorum 25-3 T is a non-pathogenic strain, but carries antibiotic resistance genes with the risk of transfer, that need further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]