A commensal bacterium secretes effector proteins to establish population heterogeneity in the gut.

ABSTRACT: The gut microbiome, comprising hundreds of individual species, is a complex and dynamic host-associated microbial community. However, how microbes interact within populations of the same species is largely unexplored. Using single-cell approaches, we discover that the human gut microbe Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron forms distinct sub-populations in the gut environment, which can be distinguished using N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) ester probes. This heterogeneity results from a locus encoding two secreted effector proteins and a cognate immunity factor. At the population level, this locus is among the most significantly upregulated across the B. thetaiotaomicron transcriptome in response to gut colonization; at the single-cell level, its variable expression leads to heterogeneity within the po

SUBMITTER: Zagieboylo AP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12757102 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature