Model for Murine Gut Colonization by Bifidobacteria.

Abstract

Members of the Bifidobacterium genus are some of the earliest and most important colonizers of the human neonatal gastrointestinal tract (GIT), exerting wide-ranging effects on early development of the host. However, human isolates of bifidobacteria are very inefficient colonizers of specific-pathogen-free (SPF) mice creating a technical barrier to discovery and applied research in this area. We have developed a reproducible model to facilitate transient colonization of SPF mice with human isolates of this genus through prior depletion of the gut resident microbiota with antibiotics. This chapter outlines the technical details for performing efficient microbiota depletion with antibiotics and subsequent administration of bifidobacteria for colonization.