Figure 2.

Growth of human colonic amylolytic bacteria on starch-derived sugars. (a) Growth (monitored by OD₆₅₀) is shown for R. bromii in M2 medium containing 0.2% of the carbohydrate indicated. Fructose was included as a reference substrate as R. bromii was unable to utilize glucose. Growth of B. adolescentis L2-32, E. rectale A1-86 and B. thetaiotaomicron 5482 was on YCFA medium containing 0.2% carbohydrates. (b) Summary of the abilities of B. adolescentis (Bif), B. thetaiotaomicron (Bac), E. rectale (Erec) and R. bromii (Rum) to utilize different sugars. The darkest shading indicates the substrate supporting the most rapid growth rate for each strain, whereas lighter shadings indicate less rapid growth (see also Supplementary Figure S1). Blanks indicate no growth.