We previously demonstrated a potentially deep penetration of oxygen into the hindgut lumen of wood-feeding termites, high oxygen consumption rates of the symbiotic gut microbiota, and an indispensable role of oxygen in the mineralization of aromatic compounds. Here we characterize the gut microflora of the wood-feeding termite Reticulitermes flavipes, focusing on metabolic capacities and relati...

The gut microbiota is considered an organ that co-develops with the host throughout its life. The composition and metabolic activities of the gut microbiota are subject to a complex interplay between the host genetics and environmental factors, such as lifestyle, diet, stress and antimicrobials. It is evident that certain prebiotics, and antimicrobials produced by lactic acid bacteria (LAB), ca...

UNLABELLED Antibiotics are a cost-effective tool for improving feed efficiency and preventing disease in agricultural animals, but the full scope of their collateral effects is not understood. Antibiotics have been shown to mediate gene transfer by inducing prophages in certain bacterial strains; therefore, one collateral effect could be prophage induction in the gut microbiome at large. Here w...

The microbiota of the gut has many crucial functions in human health. Dysbiosis of the microbiota has been correlated to a large and still increasing number of diseases. Recent studies have mostly focused on analyzing the associations between disease and an aberrant microbiota composition. Functional studies using (in vitro) gut models are required to investigate the precise interactions that o...

Experimental studies of the evolution of reproductive isolation (RI) in real time are a powerful way in which to reveal fundamental, early processes that initiate divergence. In a classic speciation experiment, populations of Drosophila pseudoobscura were subjected to divergent dietary selection and evolved significant positive assortative mating by diet. More recently, a direct role for the gu...

Purpose: The gut microbiome, defined as the community of microorganisms residing in digestive tract, is believed to play a crucial role development neurological disorders, including schizophrenia. Design: Recent research indicates that individuals with schizophrenia have altered microbiomes, characterized by reduced levels beneficial bacteria such Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus, increased po...

Using pathogens or high levels of opportunistic bacteria to damage the gut, studies in Drosophila have identified many signaling pathways involved in gut regeneration. Dying cells emit signaling molecules that accelerate intestinal stem cell proliferation and progenitor differentiation to replace the dying cells quickly. This process has been named 'regenerative cell death'. Here, mimicking env...

UNLABELLED The vertebrate intestine is home to microbial ecosystems that play key roles in host development and health. Little is known about the spatial and temporal dynamics of these microbial communities, limiting our understanding of fundamental properties, such as their mechanisms of growth, propagation, and persistence. To address this, we inoculated initially germ-free zebrafish larvae w...

A cross sectional study was carried out in children receiving treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia to determine the prevalence of trimethoprim resistant organisms in their gut flora and to compare this with a control population. There was a significantly higher prevalence of trimethoprim resistant bacteria in the study group (61%) compared with controls (14%). A longitudinal study showed...

The human gastrointestinal tract is inhabited by a vast population of bacteria, numbering ~100 trillion. These microorganisms have been shown to play a significant role in digestion, metabolism, and the immune system. The aim of this study was to review and discuss how the human body interacts with its gut microbiome and in turn the effects that the microorganisms have on its host, overall resu...