Progress in Culturemics Research on Beneficial Intestinal Bacteria

Abstract

Gut microbes especially the beneficial ones play an important role in maintaining human health. At present, the research methods for intestinal microbes are mainly based on non-culture technologies such as metagenomics. The relationship between intestinal microbes and the body’s health can be found by using metagenomic sequencing technology. Researchers have found that most of the bacteria in the gut are uncultured, and their molecular mechanisms of action are unclear. Culturomics can be used to successfully isolate and culture some intestinal bacteria difficult to culture by improving the composition of culture medium and optimizing the culture conditions. The application of culturomics provides technical support for research on the functions of intestinal bacteria in the host and further screening of beneficial intestinal bacteria. Therefore, using culturomics technology to cultivate more beneficial intestinal bacteria and studying their phenotypes and gene functions are future research priorities. This article reviews the culturomics of and the cultivation methods for intestinal beneficial bacteria for the purpose of providing a reference for the cultivation of beneficial intestinal microorganisms for human health.

Keywords

• culturomics; gut microbes; culture methods; lactic acid bacteria; bifidobacterium