Thank you for visiting nature. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer. In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript. Help us improve our products. Sign up to take part. The potential presence of widespread and stable bacterial core phylogroups in the human colon has promoted considerable attention.
Despite major efforts, no such phylogroups have yet been identified. We found two highly prevalent core phylogroups cores 1 and 2 , belonging to the clostridial family Lachnospiraceae. These core phylogroups showed a log-normal distribution among human individuals, while non-core phylogroups showed more skewed distributions towards individuals with low levels compared with the log-normal distribution.
Molecular clock analyses suggest that core 2 co-evolved with the radiation of vertebrates, while core 1 co-evolved with the mammals. Taken together, the stability, prevalence and potential functionality support the fact that the identified core phylogroups are pivotal in maintaining gut homeostasis and health.
The interaction between the host and its gut microbiota is of fundamental importance for host health and disease. Recent research has shown that human intestinal microbiota can be linked to obesity Ley et al.
It is hypothesized that the microbiota is composed of a variable part that differs between individuals and a stable part that is found in the vast majority of human beings Turnbaugh et al.
