Overview
Burkholderiales is an order of Gram-negative Betaproteobacteria that includes environmentally versatile genera such as Ralstonia, Burkholderia, and Sutterella. Many members are notable for their metal resistance mechanisms, which enable survival in heavy metal-contaminated environments — a property that translates to competitive advantage in metal-burdened gut ecosystems.
In murine models of endometriosis, Burkholderiales abundance shifts as part of the broader gut microbiota alterations induced by the disease (yuan 2018 endometriosis induces gut microbiota alterations mice). Members of this order have also been identified in gut microbiome profiling of autism spectrum disorder cohorts, though their contribution to GI symptoms remains unclear (deng 2022 gi symptoms minor impact asd microbiota scfa).
Cross-References
- ralstonia — metal-resistant genus within Burkholderiales
- endometriosis — gut microbiota alterations
- autism spectrum disorder — ASD microbiome associations
- antimicrobial metals — metal resistance as ecological strategy