Synthetic Microbiomes on the Rise—Application in Deciphering the Role of Microbes in Host Health and Disease

Abstract

The intestinal microbiota conveys significant benefits to host physiology. Although multiple chronic disorders have been associated with alterations in the intestinal microbiota composition and function, it is still unclear whether these changes are a cause or a consequence. Hence, to translate microbiome research into clinical application, it is necessary to provide a proof of causality of host–microbiota interactions. This is hampered by the complexity of the gut microbiome and many confounding factors. The application of gnotobiotic animal models associated with synthetic communities allows us to address the cause–effect relationship between the host and intestinal microbiota by reducing the microbiome complexity on a manageable level. In recent years, diverse bacterial communities were assembled to analyze the role of microorganisms in infectious, inflammatory, and metabolic diseases. In this review, we outline their application and features. Furthermore, we discuss the differences between human-derived and model-specific communities. Lastly, we highlight the necessity of generating novel synthetic communities to unravel the microbial role associated with specific health outcomes and disease phenotypes. This understanding is essential for the development of novel non-invasive targeted therapeutic strategies to control and modulate intestinal microbiota in health and disease.

Fecal Microbiota Transplantation Reduces Campylobacter jejuni Colonization in Young Broiler Chickens Challenged by Oral Gavage but Not by Seeder Birds

“…It is possible that some undefined components in the FMT inoculum, which was crude and directly from commercial birds, might have contributed to the weight gain reduction. Thus, synthetic gut microbiota or defined microbiome consortia are better options for microbiota-based interventions [59][60][61][62]. In the future, it would be interesting to evaluate synthetic FMT (sFMT) materials comprising the microbial taxa found to be negatively correlated with Campylobacter colonization as microbiota-based interventions for the preharvest control of Campylobacter in poultry.…”

What we need to know about the germ-free animal models

“…The colonization of GF animals with a minimal microbiome offers an attractive method to evaluate the etiology of disease-associated microbial changes [73] . In fact, the production of minimal microbiomes and their application in gnotobiotic models allow mechanistic studies of host-microbe interactions under controlled conditions [73] .…”

Do intestinal microbiota contribute to obesity?

“…U osób otyłych wykazano zaburzony stosunek bakterii typu Bacteroidetes do Firmicutes na korzyść tych ostatnich. Okazało się, że wartość kaloryczna ludzkiego stolca jest proporcjonalna do ilości Bacteroidetes, a odwrotnie proporcjonalna do obecności Firmicutes w badanym kale [33,34].…”