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Journal of Medical Microbiology logo Journal of Medical Microbiology

Volume 74, Issue 5

Species-level quantification of spp. in faeces of healthy Japanese adults Open Access

Abstract

https://doi.org/10.1099/jmm.0.002043

has been considered one of the predominant microbes in the gut microbiota of healthy human adults. Moreover, due to its beneficial metabolites and its reduced population in patients with various disorders, this organism has been regarded as one of the key gut microbes in human health. However, following recent revisions in the taxonomy of the genus and , the reported population distribution and health benefits of this species have become unclear. In the present study, the population of nine species-level taxonomic groups (hereafter referred to as species) within was quantified at the species level in the faeces of healthy Japanese adults (=88). qPCR, combined with -based species-specific primers, showed that had the highest detection rate (prevalence) and copy number among spp., followed by , and , while the remaining five species were detected only occasionally. The population of varied significantly between age groups, being higher in individuals in their 40s and 50s compared to those in their 20s (=0.047 and 0.002, respectively). The present study indicates that is not the predominant species in the healthy Japanese adults included in the present study. Future studies will shed light on the health benefits of the dominant spp.

  • Received:
  • Accepted:
  • Published Online:
Keyword(s): Faecalibacterium , gut microbiota , healthy human adult , quantification and rpoA-based qPCR
Funding
This study was supported by the:
  • Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (Award 24K08691)
    • Principal Award Recipient: AkihitoEndo
© 2025 The Authors
  • This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. This article was made open access via a Publish and Read agreement between the Microbiology Society and the corresponding author’s institution.

Erratum

A correction has been published for this content:
Corrigendum: Species-level quantification of spp. in faeces of healthy Japanese adults
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2025-05-23
2026-04-15

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/content/journal/jmm/10.1099/jmm.0.002019
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Species-level quantification of Faecalibacterium spp. in faeces of healthy Japanese adults
J. Med. Microbiol. 74, 002019 (2025); https://doi.org/10.1099/jmm.0.002019
/content/journal/jmm/10.1099/jmm.0.002019
/content/journal/jmm/10.1099/jmm.0.002019
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