Infection leaves a genetic and functional mark on the gut population of a commensal bacterium.

ABSTRACT: Gastrointestinal infection changes microbiome composition and gene expression. In this study, we demonstrate that enteric infection also promotes rapid genetic adaptation in a gut commensal. Measurements of Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron population dynamics within gnotobiotic mice reveal that these populations are relatively stable in the absence of infection, and the introduction of the enteropathogen Citrobacter rodentium reproducibly promotes rapid selection for a single-nucleotide variant with increased fitness. This mutation promotes resistance to oxidative stress by altering the sequence of a protein, IctA, that is essential for fitness during infection. We identified commensals from multiple phyla that attenuate the selection of this variant during infection. These species increase th

SUBMITTER: Tawk C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10197903 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature