| Methanobrevibacter smithii | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Archaea |
| Kingdom: | Euryarchaeota |
| Class: | Methanobacteria |
| Order: | Methanobacteriales |
| Family: | Methanobacteriaceae |
| Genus: | Methanobrevibacter |
| Species: | M. smithii
|
| Binomial name | |
| Methanobrevibacter smithii Balch and Wolfe 1981
| |
Methanobrevibacter smithii is the predominant methanogenic archaeon in the microbiota of the human gut.[1] M. smithii has a coccobacillus shape. It plays an important role in the efficient digestion of polysaccharides (complex sugars) by consuming the end products of bacterial fermentation (H2, acetate, formate to some extant).[2] M. smithii is a hydrogenotrophic methanogen that utilizes hydrogen by combining it with carbon dioxide to form methane. The removal of hydrogen by M. smithii is thought to allow an increase in the extraction of energy from nutrients by shifting bacterial fermentation to more oxidized end products.[3]
Methanobrevibacter smithii is also found in dental plaque and in the vagina (with vaginosis).[4]
- ^ Miller, Terry L.; Wolin, Meyer J. (February 1982). "Enumeration of Methanobrevibacter smithii in human feces". Archives of Microbiology. 131 (1): 14–18. doi:10.1007/BF00451492. ISSN 0302-8933.
- ^ Whitman, William B., ed. (2015-09-14). Bergey's Manual of Systematics of Archaea and Bacteria (1 ed.). Wiley. doi:10.1002/9781118960608.gbm00496. ISBN 978-1-118-96060-8.
- ^ Armougom F; Henry M; Vialettes B; Raccah D; et al. (2009). "Monitoring Bacterial Community of Human Gut Microbiota Reveals an Increase in Lactobacillus in Obese Patients and Methanogens in Anorexic Patients". PLOS ONE. 4 (9): e7125. Bibcode:2009PLoSO...4.7125A. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0007125. PMC 2742902. PMID 19774074.
- ^ Belay, N; Mukhopadhyay, B; Conway de Macario, E; Galask, R; Daniels, L. 1990. Methanogenic bacteria in human vaginal samples. Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 28 (7), 1666–1668.