| Oxalobacter formigenes | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Bacteria |
| Phylum: | Proteobacteria |
| Order: | Burkholderiales |
| Family: | Oxalobacteraceae |
| Genus: | Oxalobacter |
| Species: | O. formigenes |
| Binomial name | |
| Oxalobacter formigenes |
|
Oxalobacter formigenes is an oxalate-degrading anaerobic bacterium that colonizes the large intestine of numerous vertebrates, including humans. O. formigenes and humans share a beneficial symbiosis.
Quinolone, a broad-spectrum antibiotic, kills O. formigenes. If a person's gastrointestinal tract lacks this bacterium, and therefore lacks the primary source for the Oxalyl-CoA decarboxylase enzyme, then the GI tract cannot degrade calcium oxalate. Such an imbalance may facilitate the formation of Calcium Oxalate based kidney stones.[1]