Ruminococcus torques is a gram-positive, spherical-to-oval-shaped bacterium.[1] It is anerobic and non-motile.[1] It was discovered by Holdeman and Moore in 1974.[1]
R. torques is a mucin degrader and has been associated with inflammatory bowel diseases, irritable bowel syndrome, gut inflammation, and the early stages of colorectal cancer.[2][3][4] It degrades mucin through its ability to degrade the mucin oligosaccaride.[5]Ruminococcus and Bifidobacterium strains are able to degrade the oligosaccaride due to their production of extracellularglycosidase.[5]
Togo et al proposed the reclassification of Ruminococcus torques to Mediterraneibacter torques with the type strain ATCC 27756T (= VPI B2-51T) in 2018.[6]
Mucin degradation
Mucin-degrading bacteria have been associated with mucin defects which lead pathogen susceptibility and the development of diseases.[7][8] According to Schaus et al (2024), R. torques is a keystone species in intestinal mucin degradation.[2] They highlight the need for understanding the mechanisms used by these bacteria and the effects of degradation on the health of both the host and the microbiota. Their study showed that R. torques degrades mucin and releases products available for use by Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron. The data from this study also suggests that R. torques may play a major role in the gut through its ability to make use of a wide range of mucin substrates.[2]R. torques has been associated with prolonged Strongyloides stercoralis infection due to its mucin-degrading behaviour and degree of enrichment during infection compared to other bacteria such as Alloprevotella and Roseburia.[9]
Association with infection
R. torques has been associated with and linked to colorectal cancer by a number of studies.[10][11] It has also been suggested that R. torques may be a biomarker for Crohn's disease.[10] Li et al suggests that a higher abundance of R. torques is highly associated with an increased chance of developing Crohn's disease.[12]
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