MSphere of Influence: Drivers of Host-Associated Microbial Community Structure and Change.

Vanessa L Hale

doi:10.1128/msphere.00248-21

Abstract

ABSTRACTVanessa L. Hale studies the role of the microbiome in disease susceptibility in animal and human health. In this mSphere of Influence article, she reflects on how the papers “Evolution of mammals and their gut microbes” (R. E. Ley, M. Hamady, C. Lozupone, P. J. Turnbaugh, et al., Science 320:1647–1651, 2008, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1155725) and “A dietary fiber-deprived gut microbiota degrades the colonic mucus barrier and enhances pathogen susceptibility” (M. S. Desai, A. M. Seekatz, N. M. Koropatkin, N. Kamada, et al., Cell 167:1339–1353.e21, 2016, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2016.10.043) have provided a foundation for studying drivers of gut microbial structure and change across host species in the context of evolution and disease risk.

Highlights

What are the ultimate and proximate drivers of host-associated microbial community structure and change? Work across disciplines from medicine to agriculture to anthropology actively seeks to answer this question in part by determining how these communities can be manipulated to promote health and prevent or treat disease
Commentary a series of experiments that examined gut microbial community function and change over time in response to differing dietary regimens. In their germfree mouse model inoculated with a synthetic human gut microbiota, fiber-free diets or alternating fiber-rich/fiber-free diets resulted in an increased abundance of mucin-degrading bacteria, an increase in microbial mucus-targeting transcripts, a thinner mucus layer in the mouse gut, a decreased colon length, and an increase in gut inflammatory markers
This work is an elegant example, among others (5, 6), revealing that “one microbe” does not automatically equal “one disease”; rather, there is a rich interaction between microbial communities, diet, and host mucin production, which affects disease susceptibility and pathogenesis

Summary

Introduction

What are the ultimate and proximate drivers of host-associated microbial community structure and change? Work across disciplines from medicine to agriculture to anthropology actively seeks to answer this question in part by determining how these communities can be manipulated to promote health and prevent or treat disease. Commentary a series of experiments that examined gut microbial community function and change over time in response to differing dietary regimens.

Results

Conclusion