Wikipedia
Prevotella is a genus of Gram-negative bacteria.
Bacteroides melaninogenicus has been reclassified and split into Prevotella melaninogenica and Prevotella intermedia.
Prevotella spp. are members of the oral and vaginal flora, and are recovered from anaerobic infections of the respiratory tract. These infections include aspiration pneumonia, lung abscess, pulmonary empyema, and chronic otitis media and sinusitis. They have been isolated from abscesses and burns in the vicinity of the mouth, bites, paronychia, urinary tract infection, brain abscesses, osteomyelitis, and bacteremia associated with upper respiratory tract infections. Prevotella spp. predominate in periodontal disease and periodontal abscesses.
In a study of gut bacteria of children in Burkina Faso (in Africa), Prevotella made up 53% of the gut bacteria, but were absent in age-matched European children. Studies also indicate that long-term diet is strongly associated with the gut microbiome composition—those who eat plenty of protein and animal fats typical of Western diet have predominantly Bacteroides bacteria, while for those who consume more carbohydrates, especially fibre, the Prevotella species dominate.
P. copri is possibly connected to rheumatoid arthritis.
A recent study on Prevotella derived from humans compared the gene repertoires of its species derived from different body sites of human. It also reported an open pan- genome showing vast diversity of gene pool.
An overgrowth of Prevotella and a reduction of Lactobacillus have been correlated with the onset of Osteomyelitis in mice. The reduction of Prevotella in model mice lead to an increase of Lactobacillus showing a protection effect against osteomyelitis. Thus, changes in the microbiota Prevotella may be related to the development of osteomyelitis.