Single-strain behavior predicts responses to environmental pH and osmolality in the gut microbiota.

ABSTRACT: Changes to gut environmental factors such as pH and osmolality due to disease or drugs correlate with major shifts in microbiome composition; however, we currently cannot predict which species can tolerate such changes or how the community will be affected. Here, we assessed the growth of 92 representative human gut bacterial strains spanning 28 families across multiple pH values and osmolalities in vitro. The ability to grow in extreme pH or osmolality conditions correlated with the availability of known stress response genes in many cases, but not all, indicating that novel pathways may participate in protecting against acid or osmotic stresses. Machine learning analysis uncovered genes or subsystems that are predictive of differential tolerance in either acid or osmotic stress. F

SUBMITTER: Ng KM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10470613 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature