Inducible CRISPR-targeted "knockdown" of human gut Bacteroides in gnotobiotic mice discloses glycan utilization strategies.

ABSTRACT: Understanding how members of the human gut microbiota prioritize nutrient resources is one component of a larger effort to decipher the mechanisms defining microbial community robustness and resiliency in health and disease. This knowledge is foundational for development of microbiota-directed therapeutics. To model how bacteria prioritize glycans in the gut, germfree mice were colonized with 13 human gut bacterial strains, including seven saccharolytic Bacteroidaceae species. Animals were fed a Western diet supplemented with pea fiber. After community assembly, an inducible CRISPR-based system was used to selectively and temporarily reduce the absolute abundance of Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron or B. cellulosilyticus by 10- to 60-fold. Each knockdown resulted in specif

SUBMITTER: Beller ZW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10523453 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature