Assembly of the Caenorhabditis elegans gut microbiota from diverse soil microbial environments.

ABSTRACT: It is now well accepted that the gut microbiota contributes to our health. However, what determines the microbiota composition is still unclear. Whereas it might be expected that the intestinal niche would be dominant in shaping the microbiota, studies in vertebrates have repeatedly demonstrated dominant effects of external factors such as host diet and environmental microbial diversity. Hypothesizing that genetic variation may interfere with discerning contributions of host factors, we turned to Caenorhabditis elegans as a new model, offering the ability to work with genetically homogenous populations. Deep sequencing of 16S rDNA was used to characterize the (previously unknown) worm gut microbiota as assembled from diverse produce-enriched soil environments under laboratory conditions. C

SUBMITTER: Berg M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5029150 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature