Ecology of the bifidobacteria.

breast fed infants. These organisms are also found in the human adult intestine, vagina, and mouth, and in the alimentary tract of various kinds of animals. In the past much confusion existed regarding the taxonomy of the bifidobacteria, partly because of the incomplete methods . available for identification of organisms, and partly because of their pleomorphism. During the past decade, however, significant progress has been made in this field, facilitating a more definitive speciation of the bifidobacteria (2-11). This paper proposes to review briefly some recent advances in the knowledge of the taxonomy of the bifidobacteria and to present research on some aspects of the ecological relationships of bifidobacteria.