title: Different subtype strains of Akkermansia muciniphila abundantly colonize in southern China.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study investigates the colonization rate of Akkermansia muciniphila in the gastrointestinal tracts of people living in southern China and applies a modified method for the isolation and subtyping of A. muciniphila strains from faecal samples.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fresh faecal samples were collected and bacterial DNA was extracted from these samples for real-time PCR analysis. Strains were separated using a culture-dependent sPCR-directed method and classified using an enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC-PCR) DNA fingerprinting method. The colonization rate for the sample population from southern China was 51·74%. We isolated 22 strains from human faeces. The results revealed that all strains were identifiable as A. muciniphila with 99-100% identity to the type-strain ATCC BAA-835. ERIC-PCR resulted in grouping of the DNA fingerprints showed that 12 distinct clusters were distinguished with a delineation level of 100%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Southern China has a high rate of A. muciniphila colonization and over 12 different subtype strains reside in faecal samples.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Akkermansia muciniphila has a beneficial role in human gastrointestinal tract. These studies provide a better understanding of A. muciniphila and details of its colonization in the human gastrointestinal tract.
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Zhu Jiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Zhu Jiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Zhu Jiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Zhu Jiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology, Zhu Jiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yi
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Zhu Jiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Peng
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China; D016172:DNA Fingerprinting; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D041981:Gastrointestinal Tract / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D061327:Verrucomicrobia / Q000145:classification / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial
keywords: Akkermansia muciniphila; ERIC-PCR; colonization rate; real-time PCR; subtyping