Ruminococcus albus 7

Scanning electron microscopic image of Ruminococcus albus 7. This photo belongs to the GMH Project and was taken by Kingsley Boateng.

Introduction

Ruminococcus albus 7 (DSM 20455 ATCC 272107 JCM 14654)

Ruminococcus albus 7 is an obligately anaerobic, Gram-positive bacterium first isolated from the bovine rumen by Robert Edward Hungate in 1951 [1]. This strain primarily utilizes plant-derived carbohydrates, such as cellulose, xylan, and cellobiose, as fermentation substrates, and produces ethanol and CO₂ as it primary fermentation end products, along with relatively law amount of acetate [2].

This bacterium have high cellolytic ability and play a key roll for initial fiber degradation in rumen. Additioally, the production of H₂ during fermentation by R. albus, providing electrons for CO₂ reduction and methane production by methanogenic archaea [3]. Consequently, understanding the metabolic pathways and symbiotic relationships of R. albus 7 is essential for ongoing research aimed at mitigating enteric methane emissions from livestock.

LPSN: Ruminococcus albus Hungate 1957

NCBI: Ruminococcus albus

GTDB: Ruminococcus albus

Risk group: 1

Global Methane Hub Metadata

Origin:	United States of America, Macike lab
Sequenced by:	Yuqi Li
Assembled by:	William G. Alexander
Methylome called by:	William G. Alexander
Methyltransferases cloned by:	Roy Rodriguez Carrero
MIC and Culturing Conditions by:	Roy Rodriguez Carrero
Transformation by:

Genome

Circos plot of R. albus 7. Source: Makoto Adachi

Methylome

Motif	Percent methylated
G(6mA)TC
GCGC(6mA)G
CAG(6mA)KC
CTYR(6mA)G
C(6mA)GNNNNNNNTTYG/ CRA(6mA)NNNNNNNCTG
G(6mA)STC
GAGG(6mA)G
G(5mC)WGC
GGN(5mC)C
CTC(4mC)TC

Methylating E. coli

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Culturing Conditions

R. albus 7 grown well in M2GSC and M10 medium at 37°C. Plating efficiency of R. albus 7 on M10 agar is close to 100%.

Antimicrobial MIC Tests

Note: Antimicrobial MIC was assessed using M2GSC liquid medium.

Antibiotic	Concentration (µg/ml)
Ampicilin	2.92
Chlorhamphenicol	0.08
Erythromycin	1.79
Gentamycin	4.67
Kanamycin	5.77
Streptomycin	Resistance (>200)
Tetracycline	1.0

Protocols

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Transformation Results

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External Links

[1] Hungate RE. 1957. Microorganisms in the rumen of cattle fed a constant ration. Can J Microbiol 3:289–311.

[2] Pavlostathis SG, Miller TL, Wolin MJ. 1988. Fermentation of Insoluble Cellulose by Continuous Cultures of Ruminococcus albus. Appl Environ Microbiol 54:2655–2659.

[3] Kim NK, Koike S, Kelly W, Attwood GT, Cook GM, Cann I, Mackie RI. 2026. Transcriptomic and metabolic analyses of interspecies hydrogen and electron transfer during syntrophic growth of Ruminococcus albus 7 with four different hydrogen-utilizing Methanobrevibacter strains. Anim Microbiome https://doi.org/10.1186/s42523-026-00644-8.