Abstract
A stable intestinal microflora is an essential prerequisite for human health. This study investigated the interaction between Escherichia coli exopolysaccharides (named EPS-m2) and the human gut microbiota (HGM) in vitro. The EPS-m2 was produced by E. coli WM3064 when treated with ceftriaxone. The monosaccharide composition analysis revealed that EPS-m2 is composed of glucuronic acid, glucose, fucose, galactose/N-acetyl glucosamine, arabinose, xylose, and ribose with a molar ratio of approximately 77:44:29:28:2:1:1. The carbohydrates, protein, and uronic acids contents in EPS-m2 was 78.6 ± 0.1%, 4.38 ± 0.11%, and 3.86 ± 0.09%, respectively. In vitro batch fermentation experiments showed that 77% of EPS-m2 could be degraded by human fecal microbiota after 72 h of fermentation. In reverse, 16S rRNA gene sequencing analysis showed that EPS-m2 increased the abundance of Alistipes, Acinetobacter, Alloprevotella, Howardella, and Oxalobacter; GC detection illustrated that EPS-m2 enhanced the production of SCFAs. These findings indicated that EPS-m2 supplementation could regulate the HGM and might facilitate modulation of human health.
Highlights
The human gastrointestinal tract carries a structured microbial composition that contributes to host nutrition, metabolism, and immunity; and the number of gut bacteria was approximately equal to the human cells (Sender et al, 2016)
The results illustrated that adding 0.5 μg/mL ceftriaxone could significantly increase the yields of EPS-m2 in E. coli WM3064 (Figure 1B)
These results indicate that E. coli WM3064 producing EPSm2 undergo genetic mutations in favor of the production of EPS-m2 in their genomes under the treatment of ceftriaxone, and the mechanism remains to be explored in future studies
Summary
The human gastrointestinal tract carries a structured microbial composition that contributes to host nutrition, metabolism, and immunity; and the number of gut bacteria was approximately equal to the human cells (Sender et al, 2016). Increasing evidence suggests that microbial communities in the human gut have alterations in composition linked to dysbiosis-related diseases, such as various chronic diseases (Clemente et al, 2012; Rajilic-Stojanovicet al., 2015). Significant interest has focused on the gut microbiota, which multiple factors, such as genetics, diet, and the environment contribute to the establishment of its ecosystem (Sommer and Backhed, 2013). The gut microbiota involve increased energy harvesting and storage, and modulated various functions of host metabolism, such as assimilating undigested carbohydrates (Gill et al, 2006), a trait that probably has ecological and evolutionary forces that contribute to the establishment of a mutually beneficial relationship with human beings.
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