Non-stochastic reassembly of a metabolically cohesive gut consortium shaped by N-acetyl-lactosamine-enriched fibers
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Diet is one of the main factors shaping the human microbiome, yet our understanding of how specific dietary components influence microbial consortia assembly and subsequent stability in response to press disturbances – such as increasing resource availability (feeding rate) – is still incomplete. This study explores the reproducible re-assembly, metabolic interplay, and compositional stability within microbial consortia derived from pooled stool samples of three healthy infants. Using a single-step packed-bed reactor (PBR) system, we assessed the reassembly and metabolic output of consortia exposed to lactose, glucose, galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS), and humanized GOS (hGOS). Our findings reveal that complex carbohydrates, especially those containing low inclusion (~1.25 gL−1) components present in human milk, such as N-acetyl-lactosamine (LacNAc), promote taxonomic, and metabolic stability under varying feeding rates, as shown by diversity metrics and network analysis. Targeted metabolomics highlighted distinct metabolic responses to different carbohydrates: GOS was linked to increased lactate, lactose to propionate, sucrose to butyrate, and CO2, and the introduction of bile salts with GOS or hGOS resulted in butyrate reduction and increased hydrogen production. This study validates the use of single-step PBRs for reliably studying microbial consortium stability and functionality in response to nutritional press disturbances, offering insights into the dietary modulation of microbial consortia and their ecological dynamics.
Source: Gut Microbes
Language: English
Topic: Gut microbiota and health
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Zero hunger
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,060
Funders: North Carolina State University, National Institutes of Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Nutrition Obesity Research Center, University of North Carolina, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, Center for Gastrointestinal Biology and Disease, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
OpenAlex ID: W4405611136