Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 16, 2026

Assessing the Viability of a Synthetic Bacterial Consortium on the In Vitro Gut Host-microbe Interface
Published on: July 4, 2018
Evolutionary architecture of the infant-adapted group of Bifidobacterium species associated with the probiotic
Min-Jung Kwak1, Soon-Kyeong Kwon1, Jae-Kyung Yoon1
1Department of Systems Biology and Division of Life Sciences, Yonsei University, 50 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea.
Abstract:
Bifidobacteria, often associated with the gastrointestinal tract of animals, are well known for their roles as probiotics. Among the dozens of Bifidobacterium species, Bifidobacterium bifidum, B. breve, and B. longum are the ones most frequently isolated from the feces of infants and known to help the digestion of human milk oligosaccharides. To investigate the correlation between the metabolic properties of bifidobacteria and their phylogeny, we performed a phylogenomic analysis based on 452 core genes of forty-four completely sequenced Bifidobacterium species. Results show that a major evolutionary event leading to the clade of the infant-adapted species is linked to carbohydrate metabolism, but it is not the only factor responsible for the adaptation of bifidobacteria to the gut. The genome of B. longum subsp. infantis, a typical bifidobacterium in the gut of breast-fed infants, encodes proteins associated with several kinds of species-specific metabolic pathways, including urea metabolism and biosynthesis of riboflavin and lantibiotics. Our results demonstrate that these metabolic features, which are associated with the probiotic function of bifidobacteria, are species-specific and highly correlate with their phylogeny.
Related Concept Videos
Bacterial Phylum Firmicutes
Anatomy of the Intestines
Small Intestines
The small intestine is an ~7 meter-long tube with an inner diameter of just 2.5 cm. Since most nutrients are absorbed here, the inner lining of the...
Bacterial Phylum Bacteroidota
Bacterial Flora of the Large Intestine
The normal gut flora of the colon plays a critical role in generating essential vitamins such as vitamins K, B5, and B7.
Bacterial Phylum Verrucomicrobiota
Bacterial Phylum Actinobacteria

