“Our data identify a novel bacterial-host lipid network that promotes host metabolic health and holds therapeutic promise,” wrote the scientists.
However, new research has identified Turicibacter in mice as a key player, a bacterium long suspected of influencing fat metabolism. In a paper published in the journal Cell Metabolism, scientists detail exactly how it exerts its protective effects.
Turicibacter sanguinis is a novel anaerobic, Gram-positive bacterium first isolated from a blood culture of a febrile patient with acute appendicitis. The bacterium, characterized by its rod shape and low DNA G+C content, was identified as a new genus and species based on phenotypic and molecular methods, including 16S DNA sequencing which revealed a relatively high overall similarity (97%) to an uncultured bacterium but low (<87%) similarity to other known bacteria.
Kendra Klag at the University of Utah School of Medicine in Salt Lake City and her colleagues first isolated the specific Turicibacter bacterium from other microbes. Then they tested its protective effects on different groups of mice, including those bred without any existing gut bacteria and standard lab mice. The mice were fed either a regular diet or a high-fat diet, and some were also given the bacterium as a supplement.
To understand how Turicibacter was doing this, the team analyzed mouse gut and blood samples and found that the bacteria were producing their own lipids (fat molecules). They purified these bacterial fats and gave them to the mice, and observed that they alone (without the bacteria) were enough to prevent obesity. These lipids helped suppress the body’s production of ceramides, a type of fat that builds up when an individual has a high-fat diet.
Sources:
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-11-gut-bacterium-key-tackling-obesity.html#goog_rewarded
https://www.ezbiocloudpro.app/app/wiki/S;Turicibacter%20sanguinis
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