''Ruminococcus'' is a genus of bacteria in the class

Clostridia The Clostridia are a highly polyphyletic class of Bacillota, including '' Clostridium'' and other similar genera. They are distinguished from the Bacilli by lacking aerobic respiration. They are obligate anaerobes and oxygen is toxic to them. Sp ...

. They are anaerobic,

Gram-positive In bacteriology, gram-positive bacteria are bacteria that give a positive result in the Gram stain test, which is traditionally used to quickly classify bacteria into two broad categories according to their type of cell wall. Gram-positive bacte ...

gut microbes. One or more species in this genus are found in significant numbers in the human

gut microbiota Gut microbiota, gut microbiome, or gut flora, are the microorganisms, including bacteria, archaea, fungi, and viruses that live in the digestive tracts of animals. The gastrointestinal metagenome is the aggregate of all the genomes of the gut m ...

. The type species is ''R. flavefaciens''. As usual, bacteria taxonomy is in flux, with Clostridia being

paraphyletic In taxonomy (general), taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's most recent common ancestor, last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few Monophyly, monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be pa ...

, and some erroneous members of ''Ruminococcus'' being reassigned to a new genus ''

Blautia ''Blautia'' is a genus of anaerobic bacteria. Upon introduction, this genus mostly consisted of species previously described in the genus ''Ruminococcus''. References

Lachnospiraceae Taxa described in 2008 {{Clostridia-stub ...

'' on the basis of

16S rRNA 16S rRNA may refer to: * 16S ribosomal RNA 16 S ribosomal RNA (or 16 S rRNA) is the RNA component of the 30S subunit of a prokaryotic ribosome ( SSU rRNA). It binds to the Shine-Dalgarno sequence and provides most of the SSU structure. The g ...

gene sequences. One of the most highly cited papers involving the genus ''Ruminococcus'' is a paper describing

interspecies hydrogen transfer Interspecies hydrogen transfer (IHT) is a form of interspecies electron transfer. It is a syntrophic process by which H2 is transferred from one organism to another, particularly in the rumen and other anaerobic environments. IHT was discovered be ...

between ''Ruminococcus albus'' and ''

Wolinella The genus ''Wolinella'' is a member of the Campylobacterales order of Bacteria. The order Campylobacterales includes human pathogens such as ''Helicobacter pylori'' and ''Campylobacter jejuni''. Strains The only publicly available strain of ''Wo ...

succinogenes''. In 1972, ''Ruminococcus bromii'' was reportedly found in the human gut, which was the first of several species discovered. They may play a role in plant cell wall breakdown in the colon. One study found that ''R. albus'', ''R. callidus'', and ''R. bromii'' are less abundant in people with

inflammatory bowel disease Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a group of inflammation, inflammatory conditions of the colon (anatomy), colon and small intestine, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis being the principal types. Crohn's disease affects the small intestine a ...

. ''Ruminococcus'' are also less abundant in patients with

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

. ''R. gnavus'' is associated with

Crohn's disease Crohn's disease is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that may affect any segment of the gastrointestinal tract. Symptoms often include abdominal pain, diarrhea (which may be bloody if inflammation is severe), fever, abdominal distension ...

Species

* ''

Ruminococcus albus ''Ruminococcus'' is a genus of bacteria in the class Clostridia. They are anaerobic, Gram-positive gut microbes. One or more species in this genus are found in significant numbers in the human gut microbiota. The type species is ''R. flavefacien ...

'' * '' Ruminococcus bromii'' * '' Ruminococcus callidus'' * ''

Ruminococcus flavefaciens ''Ruminococcus'' is a genus of bacteria in the class Clostridia. They are anaerobic, Gram-positive gut microbes. One or more species in this genus are found in significant numbers in the human gut microbiota. The type species is ''R. flavefacien ...

'' Species belonging to the

Lachnospiraceae The Lachnospiraceae are a family of obligately anaerobic, variably spore-forming bacteria in the order Eubacteriales that ferment diverse plant polysaccharides to short-chain fatty acids (butyrate, acetate) and alcohols (ethanol). These bacteria ...

family and therefore in need of reclassification: * ''

Ruminococcus gauvreauii ''Ruminococcus'' is a genus of bacteria in the class Clostridia. They are anaerobic, Gram-positive gut microbes. One or more species in this genus are found in significant numbers in the human gut microbiota. The type species is ''R. flavefacien ...

'' * ''

Ruminococcus gnavus ''Ruminococcus'' is a genus of bacteria in the class Clostridia. They are anaerobic, Gram-positive gut microbes. One or more species in this genus are found in significant numbers in the human gut microbiota. The type species is ''R. flavefacien ...

'' * ''

Ruminococcus lactaris ''Ruminococcus'' is a genus of bacteria in the class Clostridia. They are anaerobic, Gram-positive gut microbes. One or more species in this genus are found in significant numbers in the human gut microbiota. The type species is ''R. flavefacien ...

'' * '' Ruminococcus obeum'' * ''

Ruminococcus torques ''Ruminococcus'' is a genus of bacteria in the class Clostridia. They are anaerobic, Gram-positive gut microbes. One or more species in this genus are found in significant numbers in the human gut microbiota. The type species is ''R. flavefacien ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q288892 Eubacteriales Gut flora bacteria