Microbes vs. chemistry in the origin of the anaerobic gut lumen.

ABSTRACT: The succession from aerobic and facultative anaerobic bacteria to obligate anaerobes in the infant gut along with the differences between the compositions of the mucosally adherent vs. luminal microbiota suggests that the gut microbes consume oxygen, which diffuses into the lumen from the intestinal tissue, maintaining the lumen in a deeply anaerobic state. Remarkably, measurements of luminal oxygen levels show nearly identical pO₂ (partial pressure of oxygen) profiles in conventional and germ-free mice, pointing to the existence of oxygen consumption mechanisms other than microbial respiration. In vitro experiments confirmed that the luminal contents of germ-free mice are able to chemically consume oxygen (e.g., via lipid oxidation reactions), although at rates significantly lo

SUBMITTER: Friedman ES 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5910840 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature