Recovery of partial 16S rDNA sequences suggests the presence of Crenarchaeota in the human digestive ecosystem.

Human feces collected from 10 healthy teenagers was analyzed for the presence of Crenarchaeota. After a first polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with Archaea-specific primers, a nested real-time PCR was performed using Crenarchaeota-specific primers. Real-time Crenarchaeotal PCR products detected from four subjects were cloned and the sequencing revealed that most of the partial 16S rRNA gene sequences were highly similar (> or = 97% homology) to sequences affiliated to the Sulfolobus group of the Crenarchaeota phylum. Our findings suggest for the first time that Crenarchaeota might be present in the microbiota of the human digestive ecosystem in which this phylum has never been found yet.