Draft Genome Sequence of Bacteroides faecis MAJ27T, a Strain

Despite the ecological importance of the dominant gut bacteria Bacteroides, few genomes have been defined. The Gram-negative, strictly anaerobic intestinal bacterium Bacteroides faecis MAJ27T was isolated from the feces of a healthy adult. Here, the draft genome sequence of the type strain B. faecis MAJ27 (6.11 Mbp) is reported. The symbiotic intestinal bacteria Bacteroides, belonging to the phylum Bacteroidetes, account for up to 20 % of colonic microbiota (11, 14) and are capable of utilizing a wide range of indigestible plant-derived polysaccharides and host-derived glycans (5, 10, 15). Bacteroides spp. contain several types of mobile elements within their genome, including plasmids, transposons, or prophage elements (3, 18), and frequent gene exchange (such as that of carbohydrate-active enzymes by hor-izontal gene transfer) in the Bacteroides population is observed (9, 16, 19). Functional redundancy may allow these bacteria to adapt to and dominate the complex intestinal ecosystem (7