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Updated: Nov 4, 2025

Assessing the Viability of a Synthetic Bacterial Consortium on the In Vitro Gut Host-microbe Interface
Published on: July 4, 2018
The metabolic profile of Bifidobacterium dentium reflects its status as a human gut commensal
Melinda A Engevik1,2,3, Heather A Danhof4, Anne Hall5,6
1Department of Pathology and Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA. engevik@musc.edu.
Background:
Bifidobacteria are commensal microbes of the mammalian gastrointestinal tract. In this study, we aimed to identify the intestinal colonization mechanisms and key metabolic pathways implemented by Bifidobacterium dentium.
Results:
B. dentium displayed acid resistance, with high viability over a pH range from 4 to 7; findings that correlated to the expression of Na+/H+ antiporters within the B. dentium genome. B. dentium was found to adhere to human MUC2+ mucus and harbor mucin-binding proteins. Using microbial phenotyping microarrays and fully-defined media, we demonstrated that in the absence of glucose, B. dentium could metabolize a variety of nutrient sources. Many of these nutrient sources were plant-based, suggesting that B. dentium can consume dietary substances. In contrast to other bifidobacteria, B. dentium was largely unable to grow on compounds found in human mucus; a finding that was supported by its glycosyl hydrolase (GH) profile. Of the proteins identified in B. dentium by proteomic analysis, a large cohort of proteins were associated with diverse metabolic pathways, indicating metabolic plasticity which supports colonization of the dynamic gastrointestinal environment.
Conclusions:
Taken together, we conclude that B. dentium is well adapted for commensalism in the gastrointestinal tract.
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