Unraveling the Impact of Xenobiotics on Gut Microbiota: A High-Throughput Approach under Anaerobic Conditions
The lab of Lisa Maier has developed a new method to investigate how xenobiotics, which are chemical compounds not naturally found in an organism, affect gut microbiota under anaerobic (oxygen-free) conditions. Their automated high-throughput, cultivation-based approach allows the simultaneous evaluation of the direct inhibitory effect of thousands of compounds on hundreds of bacterial isolates under anaerobic conditions. This innovative approach allows for a deeper understanding of the complex interactions between these compounds and gut bacteria, offering insights that could lead to improved gut health strategies and treatments.
For more details, read the Springer Nature behind the paper story by Patrick Müller, PhD student at the Maier Lab:
Related publication:
Müller P, de la Cuesta-Zuluaga J, Kuhn M, Baghai Arassi M, Treis T, Blasche S, Zimmermann M, Bork P, Patil KR, Typas A, Garcia-Santamarina S, Maier L. High-throughput anaerobic screening for identifying compounds acting against gut bacteria in monocultures or communities. Nat Protoc (2023) doi: 10.1038/s41596-023-00926-4.