Bifidobacteria and humans: our special friends, from ecological to genomics perspectives

• Published in: Journal of the science of food and agriculture Vol. 94; no. 2; pp. 163 - 168
• Main Authors: Ventura, Marco, Turroni, Francesca, Lugli, Gabriele Andrea, van Sinderen, Douwe
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester, UK John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 30.01.2014; John Wiley and Sons, Limited
• Subjects: Adaptation, Physiological; Adaptation, Physiological - genetics; Bacteria; bifidobacteria; Bifidobacterium; Bifidobacterium - genetics; Digestive system; Ecology; Food science; Foods; Functional Food; Functional Food - microbiology; functional foods; gastrointestinal system; Gastrointestinal Tract; Gastrointestinal Tract - microbiology; Genetics; genome; Genome, Bacterial; Genomes; Genomics; Health promotion; host-microbe cross-talk; Human; Humans; metagenomics; microbiology; Molecular biology; Probiotics; Strain; genomics; bifidobacteria; host-microbe cross-talk
• ISSN: 0022-5142; 1097-0010; 1097-0010
• DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.6356

Bifidobacteria are widely used as health‐promoting microorganisms in many functional foods. However, the molecular mechanisms as to how these bacteria positively impact on host health are far from completely understood. For this reason these bacteria constitute a growing area of scientific interest with respect to their genomics, molecular biology and genetics. Genome sequencing of an increasing number of strains of bifidobacteria has provided access to the complete genetic make‐up of many representative members of these bacteria. The aim of this review is to highlight the genetic and functional features of bifidobacteria residing in the human gastrointestinal tract using genomic and ecology‐based information. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry