Fusobacteria

The phylum Fusobacteria are often found in the gut microbiome, with many of these bacteria belonging to the Fusobacterium genus.

Fusobacteria are gram-negative, anaerobic bacilli. Fusobacteria was first reported as a pathogen connected to appendicitis in 1886. Recent studies have also revealed that acute appendicitis cases can often be linked to a local infection of Fusobacteria species.

Although Fusobacteria can be isolated from fecal samples of healthy humans in relatively high densities, research has found that these bacteria may be linked to inflammation. Increased abundance of Fusobacteria can be linked to ulcerative colitis and colon cancer.

References

A.D. Kostic et al. Fusobacterium nucleatum potentiates intestinal tumorigenesis and modulates the tumor-immune microenvironment. Cell Host & Microbe. 2013. 14: 207-215. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chom.2013.07.007

Benno, Y., Endo, K., Takeo, M. et al. Comparison of fecal microflora of elderly persons in rural and urban areas of Japan. Applied Environ Microbiology. 1989. 55: 1100–1105. PMID: 2547333

Castellarin M, Warren R, Freeman JD et al. Fusobacterium nucleatum infection is prevalent in human colorectal carcinoma. Genome Res. 2012. 22: 299–306. doi:10.1101/gr.126516.111

Flügge C (1886). Die Mikroorganismen. Vogel, Leipzig.

Knorr M. Über die fusispirillare Symbiose, die Gattung Fusobacterium (K. B. Lehman) und Spirillum sputigenum. Die Gattung Fusobacterium. Zbl Bakt Parasit. 1922. 87: 536–545.

Kostic AD, Gevers D, Pedamallu CS et al. Genomic analysis identifies association of Fusobacterium with colorectal carcinoma. Genome Res. 2012. 22: 292–298. doi:10.1101/gr.126573.111

Mirjana Rajilić-Stojanović, Willem M. de Vos. The first 1000 cultured species of the human gastrointestinal microbiota. FEMS Microbiology Reviews. 2014. 38(5):996-1047. DOI: 10.1111/1574-6976.12075

M.R. Rubinstein et al. Fusobacterium nucleatum promotes colorectal carcinogenesis by modulating E-cadherin/β-catenin signaling via its FadA adhesion. Cell Host & Microbe. 2013. 14: 195-206.

Swidsinski A, Dörffel Y, Loening-Baucke V et al. Acute appendicitis is characterised by local invasion with Fusobacterium nucleatum/necrophorum. Gut. 2011. 60: 34–40. doi:10.1136/gut.2009.191320