Findings indicate the lung microbiome may tolerate a broader range of oxygen levels, prompting a reevaluation of how lung bacteria survive and interact with the host in health and disease.

The study, titled Aerotolerant capacity of the lung symbiont Prevotella melaninogenica, appears in the Journal of Bacteriology on July 14, 2026, with DOI 10.1128/jb.00142-26.

Experiments show Prevotella melaninogenica grows at 5 to 8 percent oxygen and can briefly endure exposure to normal air levels, indicating greater oxygen tolerance than thought.

Using a real-time sensor platform and RNA sequencing, researchers found evidence that Prevotella may actively consume oxygen and respond to oxidative stress and DNA damage differently from typical aerobic bacteria.

A University of Michigan study challenges a century-old belief that Prevotella melaninogenica is an obligate anaerobe and cannot survive in oxygen.

Lead researcher Ariangela Kozik, Ph.D., notes that understanding how lung bacteria metabolize and signal to the immune system could guide targeted therapies for respiratory health and chronic lung diseases.