Bifidobacterium

Bifidobacterium is a genus of anaerobic, Gram-positive bacteria commonly found in the gastrointestinal tracts of humans and other animals. Many species ferment carbohydrates through the characteristic bifid shunt.

Bifid shunt: A carbohydrate-fermentation pathway in bifidobacteria that produces acetate and lactate through phosphoketolase reactions. This pathway gives the genus its characteristic way of fermenting sugars.
Gram-positive bacteria: Bacteria that retain crystal violet stain because of their cell-envelope structure. Bifidobacterium belongs to this broad bacterial group.
Probiotic: A live microorganism that confers a health benefit when consumed in adequate amounts. Some Bifidobacterium strains are marketed and studied as probiotics.
Henri Tissier: A French pediatrician and microbiologist who described bifid bacteria in breast-fed infants in 1899. His observations established the early scientific recognition of the group.
Strain (biology): A genetic variant or subtype within a microbial species. Benefits observed for one bifidobacterial strain cannot automatically be assigned to the whole genus.
Oligosaccharide: A carbohydrate composed of a small number of linked sugar units. Many bifidobacteria use dietary and milk oligosaccharides as substrates.
Actinomycetota: A bacterial phylum that includes high-GC Gram-positive lineages such as Bifidobacterium. This phylum provides the genus’s broad evolutionary placement.
Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis: A subspecies used in fermented foods and many commercial probiotic products. It is among the best-known bifidobacterial strains in consumer products.
Bifidobacterium bifidum: A species of Bifidobacterium associated especially with the human intestinal tract. It is the species central to Tissier’s original description.
Microbiome: A community of microorganisms together with their genes and ecological interactions in a particular environment. Bifidobacterial effects depend partly on the surrounding microbial community.

Linked from 4 pages