Bart C. Weimer

TL;DR: Phylogenetic analyses, comparison of gene content across the group, and reconstruction of ancestral gene sets indicate a combination of extensive gene loss and key gene acquisitions via horizontal gene transfer during the coevolution of lactic acid bacteria with their habitats.

TL;DR: The data show that antibiotic-induced disruption of the resident microbiota and subsequent alteration in mucosal carbohydrate availability are exploited by these two distantly related enteric pathogens in a similar manner, which suggests new therapeutic approaches for preventing diseases caused by antibiotic-associated pathogens.

TL;DR: It is determined that the prominent neonate gut residents, Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron and Bactroides fragilis, induce the same genes during HMO consumption that are used to harvest host mucus glycans, which are structurally similar to HMOs.

TL;DR: It is suggested that the isolated acid- and bile-tolerant isolates possess growth advantages over that of the parents under stress conditions and may be considered as candidates for probiotic strains after further characterization with animal models.

TL;DR: This work assessed the gene expression profile of C. difficile within the intestine of gnotobiotic mice to identify genes regulated in response to either dietary or microbiota compositional changes, and found that in the presence of the gut symbiont Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, C.–difficiles induces a pathway that metabolizes the microbiota fermentation end-product succinate to butyrate.