Butyricicoccus

A genus of Gram-positive, strictly anaerobic, butyrate-producing bacteria in the order Clostridiales (phylum Firmicutes). The type species, Butyricicoccus pullicaecorum, was originally isolated from chicken caecal content but has since been identified as a significant member of the healthy human gut microbiome. Butyricicoccus has attracted attention as a candidate next-generation probiotic because of its consistent depletion in colorectal cancer, multiple sclerosis, and inflammatory bowel disease — conditions characterized by impaired butyrate production and compromised gut barrier integrity.

Metal Dependencies

As a strictly anaerobic Firmicute, Butyricicoccus requires iron for iron-sulfur cluster enzymes involved in its anaerobic metabolic pathways, including the butyrate production pathway. The genus has not been characterized at the detailed metallomic level. <!— NEEDS VERIFICATION: direct metallomic characterization of Butyricicoccus not yet published —>

Key Enzymes and Virulence Factors

Butyricicoccus is not pathogenic. Its significance is entirely beneficial:

  • Butyryl-CoA dehydrogenase — Key enzyme in the butyrate biosynthesis pathway via the acetyl-CoA route
  • Butyrate kinase — Terminal enzyme in the butyrate kinase pathway for butyrate production
  • Short-chain fatty acid production — Butyrate is the primary metabolic output, serving as the preferred energy source for colonocytes and a potent anti-inflammatory signaling molecule

Ecological Role

Butyrate Production and Barrier Integrity

Butyricicoccus contributes to the pool of gut butyrate producers alongside Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, Roseburia, and other Clostridiales. Butyrate serves multiple protective functions: fueling colonocyte metabolism, maintaining tight junction integrity, suppressing NF-kB-mediated inflammation, and promoting regulatory T cell differentiation. The loss of Butyricicoccus and other butyrate producers is a recurring feature of conditions marked by barrier breakdown and chronic inflammation.

Oral-Gut Presence

Butyricicoccus has been detected in oral microbiome studies, suggesting it may participate in the oral-gut axis. In multiple sclerosis, it is among the taxa altered in the oral microbiome alongside other Gram-positive early colonizers ([1], case-control, n=100).

Conditions Associated

  • Colorectal cancer — Depleted in CRC patients across multiple studies. In a systematic review of microbial markers for colorectal neoplasia, butyrate-producing taxa including Butyricicoccus are consistently reduced in tumor-bearing patients ([2], systematic-review-meta-analysis). Multi-omic profiling confirms depletion of butyrate producers in CRC with corresponding enrichment of pathogenic taxa like Fusobacterium nucleatum and Bacteroides fragilis ([3], cross-sectional, n=41).
  • Multiple sclerosis — Altered in the oral microbiome of relapsing-remitting MS patients, with MS showing a broad shift away from Gram-positive early colonizers toward Gram-negative pathobionts ([1], case-control, n=100).
  • Inflammatory bowel disease — Reduced as part of the general loss of butyrate-producing Firmicutes in IBD.

Key Studies

  • [2] (systematic-review-meta-analysis) — Comprehensive review identifying butyrate-producing taxa including Butyricicoccus as consistently depleted CRC biomarkers across 45 observational and 30 prediction studies.
  • [3] (cross-sectional, n=41) — Multi-omic study confirming depletion of butyrate producers in CRC; identifies metabolic pathway enrichments in tumor microenvironment.
  • [1] (case-control, n=100) — Documents oral microbiome alterations in MS including shifts in Butyricicoccus and related taxa.

Cross-References

  • butyrate — Primary metabolic product; loss of production linked to disease progression
  • colorectal cancer — Consistent depletion across CRC microbiome signatures
  • multiple sclerosis — Oral microbiome alteration pattern
  • faecalibacterium prausnitzii — Fellow butyrate producer; co-depleted in multiple conditions
  • roseburia — Fellow butyrate producer in the Clostridiales order
  • dysbiosis — Butyricicoccus loss as marker of impaired butyrate ecology
  • gut microbiome — Candidate next-generation probiotic for butyrate restoration

References (4)

  1. Rachel L. Fitzjerrells, Leeann Aguilar Meza, Meeta Yadav et al. (2025). Multiple Sclerosis Patients Exhibit Oral Dysbiosis with Decreased Early Colonizers and Lower Hypotaurine Level. npj Biofilms and Microbiomes. doi:10.1038/s41522-025-00787-7
  2. Yu L, Zhao G, Wang L et al. (2022). A Systematic Review of Microbial Markers for Risk Prediction of Colorectal Neoplasia. British Journal of Cancer. doi:10.1038/s41416-022-01740-7
  3. Shaomin Zou, Chao Yang, Jieping Zhang et al. (2024). Multi-omic profiling reveals associations between the gut microbiome, host genome and transcriptome in patients with colorectal cancer. Journal of Translational Medicine. doi:10.1186/s12967-024-04984-4
  4. Rosemeire Arai Yoshida, Tiago Bertola Lobato, Renata Gorjão et al. (2023). Yoshida 2023 — Detection and Quantification of Pathogens in Saliva of Adolescents With Cerebral Palsy: A Cross-Sectional Study. Frontiers in Dental Medicine. doi:10.3389/fdmed.2023.1208243

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