Moore Foundation grantees at the University of Oregon used live zebrafish and 3-D microscopy to track interactions between gut bacteria in real time, leading to an unexpected discovery: mechanical contractions that move contents through the intestine are vitally important drivers of bacterial competition.
In recent years, numerous diseases have been tied to variations in gut microbiota. The rapidly growing probiotics industry targets gut and intestinal health by developing products built mostly around enzyme cultures and bacteria. This new study suggests that the underlying health and physical forces of the gut are as important as the bacteria inside in shaping communities of intestinal microbiota.
"The new findings could help improve such efforts and guide new treatments for diseases of the gastrointestinal system," said Raghuveer Parthasarathy, a professor of physics at the University of Oregon. "This research shows that the physical environment and activity of the host intestine can be a major determinant of the bacterial makeup of the gut -- an idea that we think should very generally influence how we tackle issues of health and disease."
Parthasarathy's research was funded in part through the Moore Foundation and Research Corporation for Science Advancement's 2015 conference Scialog: Molecules Come to Life, in which five team research proposals were selected to focus on convergence science at the intersection of physics and biology to address the need for a more quantitative, theory-based understanding of complex biological phenomena.
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