Applied and Environmental Microbiology · Oct 12, 2007
Intestinal integrity and Akkermansia muciniphila, a mucin-degrading member of the intestinal microbiota present in infants, adults, and the elderly
By Collado MC, Derrien M, Isolauri E et al.
Fluorescence in situ hybridization and real-time PCR analysis targeting the 16S rRNA gene of Akkermansia muciniphila were performed to determine its presence in the human intestinal tract. These techniques revealed that an A. muciniphila-like bacterium is a common member of the human intestinal tract and that its colonization starts in early life and develops within a year to a level close to that observed in adults (10(8) cells/g) but decreases (P < 0.05) in the elderly.