Characterization of Bacteroides from the Colon of Human Organ Donors

Bacteroides is a genus of gram-negative, obligate anaerobes, that contains over 30 different species. They are highly adapted to the large intestinal mucosa, and play an important role in carbohydrate metabolism.1 The strict anaerobic conditions required to culture these organisms have historically made them difficult to characterize. Traditionally, species of Bacteroides have been isolated from fecal material, which acts as a proxy for the human gut microbiome.2 Such isolates are more likely to reflect the species present in the distal colon, rather than the upper GI tract. To capture Bacteroides species present in the upper GI tract, we isolated Bacteroides strains directly from the proximal colon of the GI tract from two human organ donors. Samples were plated on selective Bacteroides Bile Esculin (BBE) medium. A total of 34 strains were identified by 16S rRNA Sanger sequencing and from these, 20 were selected for whole-genome shotgun (WGS) sequencing. Phenotypic characterization showed variation in carbohydrate metabolism profiles between the strains.Bachelor of Scienc