Number of bacterial species in gut

Range total >1,000: in gut of any individual ~160 species
Organism Human Homo sapiens
Reference Rowland I et al., Gut microbiota functions: metabolism of nutrients and other food components. Eur J Nutr. 2017 Apr 9. doi: 10.1007/s00394-017-1445-8. p.2 left columnPubMed ID28393285
Primary Source [1] Rajilić-Stojanović M, de Vos WM (2014) The first 1000 cultured species of the human gastrointestinal microbiota. FEMS Microbiol Rev 38: 996–1047 doi: 10.1111/1574-6976.12075.PubMed ID24861948
Comments P.2 left column: "The human colonic microbiota is a large and complex microbial community. In total, over 1000 bacterial species have been identified of which many remain uncultured, with about 160 species being found in the gut of any individual [primary source]. The gene set of the gut microbiota (the gut microbiome) is estimated to be about 3 million genes −150 times larger than that of the human genome [ref 2]. This large and diverse microbial community has an equally extensive metabolic repertoire that complements the activity of mammalian enzymes in the liver and gut mucosa [ref 3]. The gut microbiota makes an important contribution to human metabolism by contributing enzymes that are not encoded by the human genome, for example, the breakdown of polysaccharides, polyphenols and synthesis of vitamins."
Entered by Uri M
ID 113400