Microbe profile: Akkermansia muciniphila: A conserved intestinal symbiont that acts as the gatekeeper of our mucosa

Akkermansia muciniphila is an abundant inhabitant of the intestinal tract of humans and many other animals. It is the sole intestinal representative of the verrucomicrobia in human stools and depleted in adults suffering from obesity, diabetes and several other diseases. A. muciniphila degrades intestinal mucin into mainly propionic and acetic acid, and lives in symbiosis with its host, marked by signalling to immune and metabolic pathways, priming trophic chains and likely providing competitive exclusion at the host–microbe interface. Since its recent discovery, A. muciniphila has increasingly been studied and recognized as a true intestinal symbiont promoting beneficial interactions in the intestinal tract.