Scientists at the Jill Roberts Institute for Research in Inflammatory Bowel Disease at Weill Cornell Medicine have developed a pipeline that enables genetic manipulation of nonmodel gut bacteria. The pipeline will allow scientists to study the biological roles of these bacteria, which are increasingly recognized as key factors in health and disease, at the single-gene level.
Scientists have developed advanced genetic tools for some model gut bacteria, such as E. coli, but have lacked the necessary tools for a large group of gut bacteria called Firmicutes/Clostridia that are dominant in a healthy human gut. In the study, published Jan. 19 in Cell, the researchers have developed gene-modification techniques for multiple nonmodel gut bacteria, from more than five different phyla including Firmicutes/Clostridia.
The researchers demonstrated the potential of their new genetic tools by using them to study the role of a key gut bacterial gene in regulating colon inflammation.
"Gut bacteria play a major role in the onset and development of human diseases like inflammatory bowel disease and cancers," said Dr. Chun-Jun Guo, assistant professor of immunology in medicine in the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology and a scientist in the Jill Roberts Institute for Research in Inflammatory Bowel Disease at Weill Cornell Medicine. “We were able not only to develop genetic manipulation tools for previously 'intractable' gut bacteria, but also to discover an interesting role for a microbial gene in the host using these tools.”
Gut bacteria have generally evolved symbiotic relationships, also known as commensal, with their animal hosts, including humans. Although scientists over the last two decades have been increasingly aware of gut microbes' importance in immune function and overall health—and in promoting disease when they are disrupted, for example by antibiotic use or poor diets—the development of genetic tools for manipulating these microbes has not kept pace. To read further, click here.