Investigating the Effects of Antibiotics Perturbation on Lactobacillus Species Metabolomics Profiles
Start Date
2018
Description
Our gut microbiota contains a vast array of cells that influence human physiology, metabolism, nutrition and immune function. Lactobacillus is a group of Gram-positive, lactic acid bacteria that is naturally present in the human gastrointestinal tract. Some species are probiotics that provide beneficial health effects to humans. Many studies have investigated and noted their various health benefits to their human host, including prevention of certain diseases such as colon cancer, breaking down of food, and absorption of nutrients. Maintaining the balance of our normal flora is essential - even small perturbations to the microbiota can have significant health effects. It is important to understand how antibiotics could perturb probiotic strains, such as Lactobacillus, metabolically. Numerous factors such as temperature and pH cause stress on Lactobacillus bacteria, inducing phenotypical changes, the underlying mechanisms of which are still relatively unclear. Two different species, Lactobacillus delbruekii (L.delbruekii) and Lactobacillus reuteri (L.reuteri) were chosen for this research. L.reuteri is a naturally occurring gut bacteria while L.delbruekii is largely used in the fermentation of yogurt. Both species have been shown to provide various health benefits. Bacteria have been shown to undergo antibiotic-induced metabolome responses, which may contribute to bacterial susceptibility to antibiotics .
Recommended Citation
Lee, Sophia; Yang, Kundi; and Zhu, Jiangjiang (Chris), "Investigating the Effects of Antibiotics Perturbation on Lactobacillus Species Metabolomics Profiles" (2018). Summer Research. 3.
https://digitalcommons.calvin.edu/summer_research/2018/Posters/3
Included in
Investigating the Effects of Antibiotics Perturbation on Lactobacillus Species Metabolomics Profiles
Our gut microbiota contains a vast array of cells that influence human physiology, metabolism, nutrition and immune function. Lactobacillus is a group of Gram-positive, lactic acid bacteria that is naturally present in the human gastrointestinal tract. Some species are probiotics that provide beneficial health effects to humans. Many studies have investigated and noted their various health benefits to their human host, including prevention of certain diseases such as colon cancer, breaking down of food, and absorption of nutrients. Maintaining the balance of our normal flora is essential - even small perturbations to the microbiota can have significant health effects. It is important to understand how antibiotics could perturb probiotic strains, such as Lactobacillus, metabolically. Numerous factors such as temperature and pH cause stress on Lactobacillus bacteria, inducing phenotypical changes, the underlying mechanisms of which are still relatively unclear. Two different species, Lactobacillus delbruekii (L.delbruekii) and Lactobacillus reuteri (L.reuteri) were chosen for this research. L.reuteri is a naturally occurring gut bacteria while L.delbruekii is largely used in the fermentation of yogurt. Both species have been shown to provide various health benefits. Bacteria have been shown to undergo antibiotic-induced metabolome responses, which may contribute to bacterial susceptibility to antibiotics .