Researchers have created a 'Noah's Ark' of microbes to explore the gut

Biologists from Stanford University have created an artificial microbiome consisting of more than 100 species

bacteria working together. This environment simulates the natural symbiosis of beneficial microorganisms living in the human intestine.

Each cell in the microbiome performscertain function: destroys or creates molecules necessary for the normal functioning of the body. The difficulty in creating an artificial colony was that it was not only stable and functional, the authors of the study explain. In such a colony, one species should not suppress the others, but together they should perform the same functions as the natural environment of the intestine.

Artificial bacterial colony in a Petri dish. Image: L.A. Cicero, Stanford

The choice of species that should form a colony,was also difficult due to natural differences between people. The fact is that two randomly taken people will have no more than half of the common microbial genes. To solve this problem, the researchers used data from the Human Microbiome Project (HMP) to sequence the complete microbial genomes of more than 300 adults.

We've been looking for Noah's Ark of bacterial species in the human gut, trying to find the ones that every human had.

Michael Fischbach, associate professor of microbiology, immunology and co-author of the study

For their synthetic colony, researchersselected 104 bacterial strains that were present in at least 20% of people from the HMP genomic study. Each type of bacteria was bred separately, and then they were mixed into a single culture.

To enrich and bring your colony closer toreal conditions, the researchers used human feces containing the natural environment of living people. The study showed that when interacting with excrement, the colony was replenished with another 20 new species of bacteria, which occupied a free niche.

Researchers have demonstrated the effectivenessof his development in mice. Sterile animals, in the intestines of which there were no bacteria, were transplanted with the finished colony. The study showed that it not only successfully took root, but also helped to cope with the infection of E. coli as effectively as the real microbiome does.

Scheme of the experiment.The first version of the microbiome of 104 bacteria was transplanted into mice, after 4 weeks they were additionally implanted with human feces. After 8 weeks, the researchers sequenced the formed resistant microbiome, which contained 119 bacterial strains. Image: Alice G. Cheng et al., Cell

Scientists note that the bacterial environmentThe gut affects the development of the nervous system, response to cancer immunotherapy, and other aspects of health. They believe the new development will help better understand the links between the microbiome and health, and ultimately develop methods to restore a healthy gut environment.

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