Microbial colonization of mammals is an evolution-driven process that modulate host physiology, many of which are associated with immunity and nutrient intake. Here, we report that colonization by gut microbiota impacts mammalian brain development and subsequent adult behavior. Using measures of motor activity and anxiety-like behavior, we demonstrate that germ free (GF) mice display increased motor activity and reduced anxiety, compared with specific pathogen free (SPF) mice with a normal gut microbiota. This behavioral phenotype is associated with altered expression of genes known to be involved in second messenger pathways and synaptic long-term potentiation in brain regions implicated in motor control and anxiety-like behavior. GF mice exposed to gut microbiota early in life display similar characteristics as SPF mice, including reduced expression of PSD-95 and synaptophysin in the striatum. Hence, our results suggest that the microbial colonization process initiates signaling mechanisms that affect neuronal circuits involved in motor control and anxiety behavior.developmental programming | microbiome | basal ganglia | cognitive behavior | synapse

Among the several factors that affect the appearance and spread of acquired antibiotic resistance, the mutation frequency and the biological cost of resistance are of special importance. Measurements of the mutation frequency to rifampicin resistance in Helicobacter pylori strains isolated from dyspeptic patients showed that Ϸ1͞4 of the isolates had higher mutation frequencies than Enterobacteriaceae mismatch-repair defective mutants. This high mutation frequency could explain why resistance is so frequently acquired during antibiotic treatment of H. pylori infections. Inactivation of the mutS gene had no substantial effect on the mutation frequency, suggesting that MutS-dependent mismatch repair is absent in this bacterium. Furthermore, clarithromycin resistance conferred a biological cost, as measured by a decreased competitive ability of the resistant mutants in mice. In clinical isolates this cost could be reduced, indicating that compensation is a clinically relevant phenomenon that could act to stabilize resistant bacteria in a population.