title: Nutritional features of the intestinal anaerobe Ruminococcus bromii.
abstract: Of six strains of Ruminococcus bromii studied, five grew in a minimal chemically defined medium containing minerals, NH(4) (+) as nitrogen source, sulfide or sulfate as sulfur source, fructose as energy and carbon source, isobutyrate or 2-methylbutyrate and carbonic acid-bicarbonate as additional carbon sources, and the vitamins biotin, riboflavin, pyridoxine, vitamin B(12) (replaced by L-methionine), pantethine, and tetrahydrofolate. The strains also could utilize cysteine or thiosulfate but not methionine; and strain Z3 failed to use dithiothreitol, thioglycolate, sulfite, or beta-mercaptoethanol as sole sources of sulfur. Mixtures of amino acids, peptides (Casitone), urea, nitrate, asparagine, or glutamine failed to replace NH(4) (+) as N source. Three strains isolated from Americans were identical in nutritional features, whereas one from a Japanese and one from a South African native differed slightly in having requirements for fewer vitamins. One strain from the cecum of a sow grew well in a rumen fluid-supplemented medium but not in the various chemically defined media plus Casitone. The nutritional features suggest that the environment which selects R. bromii contains relatively little amino acid nitrogen and a relatively large amount of NH(4) (+)-N and indicate that these bacteria must depend upon other bacteria such as those that produce NH(4) (+) from urea or protein and those that produce branched-chain volatile acids to grow.
mesh_terms: D000596:Amino Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D000693:Anaerobiosis; D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D001639:Bicarbonates / Q000378:metabolism; D002087:Butyrates / Q000378:metabolism; D003470:Culture Media; D003545:Cysteine / Q000378:metabolism; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D005632:Fructose / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007422:Intestines / Q000382:microbiology*; D008715:Methionine / Q000378:metabolism; D010455:Peptides / Q000378:metabolism; D000644:Quaternary Ammonium Compounds / Q000378:metabolism; D013431:Sulfates / Q000378:metabolism; D013440:Sulfides / Q000378:metabolism; D013885:Thiosulfates / Q000378:metabolism; D014815:Vitamins / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D001639:Bicarbonates; D002087:Butyrates; D003470:Culture Media; D005227:Fatty Acids; D010455:Peptides; D000644:Quaternary Ammonium Compounds; D013431:Sulfates; D013440:Sulfides; D013885:Thiosulfates; D014815:Vitamins; D005632:Fructose; D008715:Methionine; D003545:Cysteine