The most common types of bacteria in our guts

The most popular species of bacteria that live in our intestines are: Lactobacillus (lactobiont) and Bifidobacterium (Bifidus) – Bifido and B. breve, which make up the majority of all probiotics found in food.

The other 2 types are: Bacteroides fragilis – which makes up the bulk of all antibiotics used in medicine, as well as the bacterium used in modern agriculture and veterinary medicine.

But a new study has found that, even though these are the most commonly found bacteria, there are a couple of exceptions to this rule.

“The other two species that we found that are commonly found in the human gut are Bifidia and Bacteremia, so they are the bacteria that are associated with a lot of common gut conditions like Crohn’s disease,” said Professor Daniel Ackerley, an epidemiologist at the University of Cambridge, who led the study.

This means that these bacteria are the ones that are most commonly associated with conditions like allergies, bloating, constipation, Crohn´s disease and irritable bowel syndrome, among others.

These are the very conditions which are thought to be caused by our microbiota – the bacterial community of our guts.

Prof Ackerles study, which he is reporting in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that the two strains of bacteria which are most common in the intestines – LactoBacteroide and Bacteriodobacteroidetes – also contain a third group of “super-specific” strains.

Professor Ackerleys research has found these super-specific strains of Lactococcus, Bacto and BfS are associated in a very similar way to how the super-selective strains of Bactroides fragillis, Bifida and BbS are linked to conditions such as irritable bowels, asthma and obesity.

Bacteria with this super-specialised DNA sequence are associated to a host of diseases such as allergies, asthma, irritable gut syndrome and obesity, among other conditions.

Dr Dan Ackerly has found super-specifc bacteria with these DNA sequences are associated, in a similar way, to allergies, asthmatic and obesity Dr Ackerls research has also found that some of the super specific strains of probiotics are associated more with obesity than with allergies, and with conditions such like irritable intestinal syndrome, allergies and obesity than they are to other conditions, including allergies and asthma.

He said: “The probiotic bacteria that we find in the gut are associated less with the most common conditions in the population and more with a subset of common conditions which may be associated with certain probiotic strains in particular people.”

“These bacteria are more likely to be associated more often with conditions that are more common in people with these conditions, and this can be potentially harmful.”

For example, these super specific bacteria are associated most frequently with conditions associated with the common obesity of adults and the conditions associated particularly with the conditions of obesity in children.

“Dr Ackerle said:”These super-selected bacteria are particularly likely to have increased risk of developing obesity and type 2 diabetes.

“This may be because these bacteria have been previously associated with these diseases and are thought of as a ‘healthy’ bacteria, but are actually more likely than other types of probiotic to increase the risk of obesity and diabetes.”

A key finding of the study is that probiotic super-spots are more associated with obesity and asthma than other bacterial species, with B. fragiliscis being the most prominent super-spot, and Bofidobacteria being the least prominent.

“What is also interesting is that the more you can isolate these bacteria, the more often they are found in your gut,” Dr Ayerley said.

In terms of what bacteria are actually found in our gut, he said it is very difficult to separate the different types of bacterial species.

“We have seen that certain species of Bifids and Bacteria are found very frequently in the intestinal microbiota of people with conditions of allergy and asthma,” he said.

“However, the other two types of Bacteriaceae that we have seen are very uncommon in the guts of people who have Crohn`s disease.”

So, these two bacterial species are associated very frequently with different conditions.

“The study also found some species of super-species were more common than others, including Lactococcaceae and Lactuca, and were not associated with allergies or asthma.

Professor Ayerleys findings have implications for people with inflammatory bowel diseases such with inflammatory gut syndrome, obesity and obesity-related conditions.”

These are common conditions that people with Crohns disease, who are genetically predisposed to having inflammatory bowel disease, have, and so we know that these super species may also be associated,” he added. Although