The Bacteroidetes (diderm Gram negative) is a member of the FBC superphylum. Some species are opportunistic pathogens, while other are the most common human gut commensal bacteria. Gained notoriety in the non-scientific community with the urban myth of a bacterial weight loss powder.

• PMID 18779823

• PMID 16033867

Bacteroidetes can help host digest otherwise indigestible carbohydrates. Increased level of Bacteroidetes are associated with a leaner weight profile. Dogs fed a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet had more Bacteroidetes.

• Ley, R. E., Turnbaugh, P. J., Klein, S. & Gordon, J. I. Microbial ecology: human gut microbes associated with obesity. Nature 444, 1022–1023 (2006).

• Johnson, E. L., Heaver, S. L., Walters, W. A. & Ley, R. E. Microbiome and metabolic disease: revisiting the bacterial phylum Bacteroidetes. J. Mol. Med. 95, 1–8 (2017).