Quantitative Imaging of Gut Microbiota Spatial Organization.

ABSTRACT: Genomic technologies have significantly advanced our understanding of the composition and diversity of host-associated microbial populations. However, their spatial organization and functional interactions relative to the host have been more challenging to study. Here we present a pipeline for the assessment of intestinal microbiota localization within immunofluorescence images of fixed gut cross-sections that includes a flexible software package, BacSpace, for high-throughput quantification of microbial organization. Applying this pipeline to gnotobiotic and human microbiota-colonized mice, we demonstrate that elimination of microbiota-accessible carbohydrates (MACs) from the diet results in thinner mucus in the distal colon, increased proximity of microbes to the epithelium, and heighten

SUBMITTER: Earle KA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4628835 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature