title: Fusobacterium nucleatum: an emerging gut pathogen?
abstract: The Gram-negative, non-sporulating, obligately anaerobic species, Fusobacterium nucleatum, is rapidly gaining notoriety as a pathogen with a surprising number of associated diseases. Recently, we have found that F. nucleatum is a more common resident of the GI tract than originally thought, and thus, through several studies, we have attempted to determine its gut-relevant potential for virulence. We have found that F. nucleatum possesses a number of pathogenic traits with relevance to gut diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), however, we have also documented strain-associated differences in virulence. An intriguing picture emerges that paints F. nucleatum as both conferring beneficial as well as detrimental effects on host cells; and we suggest that the ultimate effects of F. nucleatum infection in the gut are a consequence of the microbes with which this species aggregates.
authors: Molecular and Cellular Biology; University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.
authors: Emma
authors: E
authors: Allen-Vercoe
authors: Jaclyn
authors: J
authors: Strauss
authors: Kris
authors: K
authors: Chadee
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005674:Fusobacterium Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D016967:Fusobacterium nucleatum / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity* / Q000502:physiology; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D014774:Virulence