Firmicutes
The Firmicutes are a phylum of bacteria, most of which have the Gram-positive type of cell walls.
| Firmicutes | |
|---|---|
| |
| Bacillus subtilis, Gram stained | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | |
| Phylum: | Firmicutes
|
| Classes | |
Classes
The group is typically divided into the Clostridia, which are anaerobic, the Bacilli, which are aerobic, and the Mollicutes, a class of bacteria which do not have cell walls.
On phylogenetic trees, the first two groups show up as paraphyletic or polyphyletic, as do their main genera, Clostridium and Bacillus.[1]
Health
Firmicutes make up the largest portion of the mouse and human gut microbiome.[2] The division Firmicutes as part of the gut flora has been shown to be involved in energy resorption and obesity.[3][4][5]
References
- ↑ Wolf M.. Phylogeny of Firmicutes with special reference to Mycoplasma (Mollicutes) as inferred from phosphoglycerate kinase amino acid sequence data. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 54 (Pt 3) (2004). p. 871–5. doi:10.1099/ijs.0.02868-0. Retrieved 2014-03-28.
- ↑ Ecological and evolutionary forces shaping microbial diversity in the human intestine. Cell 124 (4) (2006). p. 837–48. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2006.02.017.
- ↑ Microbial ecology: human gut microbes associated with obesity. Nature 444 (7122) (2006). p. 1022–3. doi:10.1038/4441022a.
- ↑ Henig, Robin Marantz (2006-08-13). "Fat Factors". New York Times Magazine. https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/13/magazine/13obesity.html?pagewanted=3&ei=5070&en=0c39c5880e4d7067&ex=1166850000. Retrieved 2008-09-28.
- ↑ Ley R.E.. Obesity alters gut microbial ecology. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 102 (31) (2005). p. 11070–5. doi:10.1073/pnas.0504978102.