Faecalibacterium prausnitzii

cellular organisms|Bacteria|Bacillati|Bacillota|Clostridia|Eubacteriales|Oscillospiraceae|Faecalibacterium
MCA-BAC-000027
TaxID: 853 | BacDive: 159475 | Rank: species
Biology & Ecology
Biology
Gram Statusunknown
Oxygen Toleranceobligate anaerobe
Key Traits
  • butyrate-producing
Ecology
Primary Nichesgut
Reservoirhuman
Metabolites

No metabolite relationships documented for this taxon.

Clinical Profile
Pathobiont
yes no context dependent unknown
Clinical Rolesprotective commensal
Typical Specimenstool
Risk Contextsmelanoma patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy (ICB)
Clinical Associations:
E2
E3 — Strong human clinical evidence E2 — Moderate human evidence E1 — Limited / preliminary
Faecalibacterium prausnitzii relative abundance was enriched in anti-PD-1 responders versus non-responders in the shotgun metagenomic subset of 111 metastatic melanoma patients (n=71 responders, n=40 non-responders; fig. S2A), providing species-level confirmation of its association with immunotherapy response.
PMID: 34941392
D000082082 Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors D008545 Melanoma H00038 Melanoma
E2
E3 — Strong human clinical evidence E2 — Moderate human evidence E1 — Limited / preliminary
Faecalibacterium prausnitzii was significantly enriched in anti-PD-1 responders versus non-responders in metagenomic WGS of fecal samples from 25 metastatic melanoma patients (14R, 11NR), establishing the original species-level human evidence of its enrichment in the gut microbiome of immunotherapy responders (Fig. 2F).
PMID: 29097493
D000082082 Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors D008545 Melanoma H00038 Melanoma
E2
E3 — Strong human clinical evidence E2 — Moderate human evidence E1 — Limited / preliminary
Faecalibacterium prausnitzii was among the bacterial species significantly enriched in responders (objective response or stable disease >12 months) to FMT plus pembrolizumab in a Phase 2 trial of 15 PD-1-refractory advanced melanoma patients, confirming prior reports; transkingdom network analysis further identified it as negatively correlated with circulating CXCL8 (IL-8), an immunosuppressive cytokine elevated in non-responders.
PMID: 33542131
D008545 Melanoma H00038 Melanoma
E2
E3 — Strong human clinical evidence E2 — Moderate human evidence E1 — Limited / preliminary
Antibiotic-induced depletion of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii in one PD-1-refractory melanoma patient undergoing FMT plus pembrolizumab (PT-18-0018) was associated with pronounced disruption of the transplanted microbiome and clinical disease progression; re-transplantation from the same donor restored gut colonization and was followed by renewed disease stabilization.
PMID: 33542131
D008545 Melanoma H00038 Melanoma
Last reviewed: 2026-04-03
Evidence Timeline
Related Taxa Shared Niche = same body site   Shared Risk = same vulnerable population