The mosquito gut represents an ecosystem that accommodates a complex, intimately associated microbiome. It is increasingly clear that the gut microbiome influences a wide variety of host traits, such as fitness and immunity. Understanding the microbial community structure and its dynamics across mosquito life is a prerequisite for comprehending the symbiotic relationship between the mosquito an...

Bacteria in the human gut have the ability to activate, inactivate, and reactivate drugs with both intended and unintended effects. For example, the drug digoxin is reduced to the inactive metabolite dihydrodigoxin by the gut Actinobacterium E. lenta, and patients colonized with high levels of drug metabolizing strains may have limited response to the drug. Understanding the complete space of d...

The gut microbiota has recently attracted unprecedented attention from the biomedical community for the mounting evidence supporting its central role in human health and disease [1] . The gut microbiota consists of the trillions of bacterial microorganisms, spanning over 500 species, that inhabit our gastrointestinal tracts. We now know that these bacteria are not simply commensal organisms in ...

The results of studies on gnotobiotic and conventional animals indicate that intestinal bacteria interfere with absorption of nutrients. The microflora could exert this undesirable activity by a direct action on the gut wall or the gut function, as well as by transformation of a variety of exogenous and endogenous substances into unabsorbable or potentially toxic compounds. This short review pr...

The human GI tract is a complex and still poorly understood environment, inhabited by one of the densest microbial communities on earth. The gut microbiota is shaped by millennia of evolution to co-exist with the host in commensal or symbiotic relationships. Members of the gut microbiota perform specific molecular functions important in the human gut environment. This can be illustrated by the ...

Enterobacter cancerogenus CR-Eb1 and Enterococcus sp. CR-Ec1 were isolated from the larval gut of Galleria mellonella, the greater wax moth. Here, we report the completed and annotated genome sequences of insect gut-dwelling bacteria.

Animals harbor gut microbiota characteristic of the host and diet of origin. Whether bacteria from diverse nonindigenous origins successfully invade foreign gut habitats is not well known. Now, Seedorf et al. show that microbiota from a variety of disparate habitats can successfully colonize and compete in the mammalian gut environment.

Abstract Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI), such as anti-PD-1, have revolutionized cancer treatment. The use of antibiotics can lead to abnormal gut microbiome composition resulting in primary resistance ICI. However, the mechanism by which this occurs is poorly understood. Metagenomic analyses melanoma patient stool samples prior therapy revealed an association between clinical responses anti...

The midgut microbial community in insect vectors of disease is crucial for an effective immune response against infection with various human and animal pathogens. Depending on the aspects of their development, insects can acquire microbes present in soil, water, and plants. Sand flies are major vectors of leishmaniasis, and shown to harbor a wide variety of Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacte...

Psychobiotics were previously defined as live bacteria (probiotics) which, when ingested, confer mental health benefits through interactions with commensal gut bacteria. We expand this definition to encompass prebiotics, which enhance the growth of beneficial gut bacteria. We review probiotic and prebiotic effects on emotional, cognitive, systemic, and neural variables relevant to health and di...