Hominimerdicola alba
| Hominimerdicola alba | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Bacteria |
| Kingdom: | Bacillati |
| Phylum: | Bacillota |
| Class: | Clostridia |
| Order: | Eubacteriales |
| Family: | Oscillospiraceae |
| Genus: | Hominimerdicola |
| Species: | H. alba |
| Binomial name | |
| Hominimerdicola alba (Hungate 1957) Hisatomi et al. 2026 | |
| Type strain | |
| 7; ATCC 27210; DSM 20455; JCM 14654 | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
Hominimerdicola alba is an obligately anaerobic, Gram-positive, cellulose-degrading bacterium in the family Oscillospiraceae. It was originally isolated from the rumen of cattle and described as Ruminococcus albus.[2] The species was transferred to the genus Hominimerdicola in 2026.[1]
Taxonomy
The species was described by Robert Hungate in 1957 as Ruminococcus albus.[2] In 2026, phylogenetic, genomic and phenotypic analyses supported its transfer to Hominimerdicola as Hominimerdicola alba.[3] LPSN treats H. alba as the correct name and R. albus as a homotypic synonym.[1] The specific epithet alba is the feminine form of the Latin adjective albus, meaning white.[1]
Ecology and metabolism
H. alba is an important plant-fibre-degrading member of the rumen microbiota. It produces enzymes that hydrolyze plant cell-wall polysaccharides, including cellulose and hemicellulose.[4] Fermentation of cellulose, cellobiose and glucose produces acetate, ethanol, carbon dioxide and molecular hydrogen.[4]
The species has also been used as a model for interspecies hydrogen transfer. When grown with the hydrogen-consuming bacterium Wolinella succinogenes, removal of hydrogen changes its fermentation products and increases its growth yield.[5]
References
- 1 2 3 4 "Species: Hominimerdicola alba". List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature. Leibniz Institute DSMZ. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
- 1 2 Hungate, Robert E. (March 1957). "Microorganisms in the rumen of cattle fed a constant ration". Canadian Journal of Microbiology. 3 (2): 289–311. doi:10.1139/m57-034. PMID 13413736.
- ↑ Hisatomi, Atsushi; Ohkuma, Moriya; Sakamoto, Mitsuo (February 2026). "Hominimerdicola intestinalis sp. nov. and Ruminococcus sporogenes sp. nov., isolated from human faeces, and reclassification of Ruminococcus albus Hungate 1957 as Hominimerdicola alba comb. nov". International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. 76 (2) 007091. doi:10.1099/ijsem.0.007091. PMID 41729196.
- 1 2 Zheng, Yanning; Kahnt, Jörg; Kwon, In Hyuk; Mackie, Roderick I.; Thauer, Rudolf K. (November 2014). "Hydrogen formation and its regulation in Ruminococcus albus: involvement of an electron-bifurcating [FeFe]-hydrogenase, of a non-electron-bifurcating [FeFe]-hydrogenase, and of a putative hydrogen-sensing [FeFe]-hydrogenase". Journal of Bacteriology. 196 (22): 3840–3852. doi:10.1128/JB.02070-14. PMC 4248817. PMID 25157086.
- ↑ Iannotti, E. L.; Kafkewitz, D.; Wolin, M. J.; Bryant, M. P. (June 1973). "Glucose fermentation products in Ruminococcus albus grown in continuous culture with Vibrio succinogenes: changes caused by interspecies transfer of H2". Journal of Bacteriology. 114 (3): 1231–1240. Bibcode:1973JBact.114.1231I. doi:10.1128/JB.114.3.1231-1240.1973. PMC 285387. PMID 4351387.