Suboptimal community growth mediated through metabolite crossfeeding promotes species diversity in the gut microbiota.

ABSTRACT: The gut microbiota represent a highly complex ecosystem comprised of approximately 1000 species that forms a mutualistic relationship with the human host. A critical attribute of the microbiota is high species diversity, which provides system robustness through overlapping and redundant metabolic capabilities. The gradual loss of bacterial diversity has been associated with a broad array of gut pathologies and diseases including malnutrition, obesity, diabetes and inflammatory bowel disease. We formulated an in silico community model of the gut microbiota by combining genome-scale metabolic reconstructions of 28 representative species to explore the relationship between species diversity and community growth. While the individual species offered a broad range of metabolic capabilities, com

SUBMITTER: Henson MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6226200 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature