Throughout life, we are exposed to a huge variety of microorganisms, be they exogenous or endogenous, such as our gut microbiome. The gut microbiome is involved in many physiological functions, but the influence of our internal microbiome on external microbes is unknown. A study in Cell Reports using gnotobiotic Drosophila melanogaster, a model with a simple gut microbiome consisting of one or two microbial communities, shows that the gut microbiome can alter the surrounding environment, acting as a defense mechanism against invasive microbes. When studying the microbial invasion in these flies, the team saw that Lactiplantibacillus plantarum colonies reduced microbial invasion. Further analysis showed that lactic acid secreted by L. plantarum was responsible for acidifying the environment and inhibiting the growth of the pathogenic microbes tested. These results show that the gut microbiome protects the host from infection by altering the environment, creating hostile conditions that inhibit the growth of invasive organisms. Such results are helpful to better design future host–microbe studies to further understand this holistic relationship.

Original reference: Barron, A.J. et al. Cell Rep. 43, 114087 (2024)

在整个生命过程中，我们接触到各种各样的微生物，无论是外源性还是内源性，例如我们的肠道微生物组。肠道微生物组参与许多生理功能，但我们内部微生物组对外部微生物的影响尚不清楚。 《Cell Reports》中的一项使用知生果蝇（一种由一两个微生物群落组成的简单肠道微生物组模型）的研究表明，肠道微生物组可以改变周围环境，充当针对入侵微生物的防御机制。在研究这些果蝇的微生物入侵时，研究小组发现植物乳杆菌菌落减少了微生物入侵。进一步分析表明，植物乳杆菌分泌的乳酸负责酸化环境并抑制测试的病原微生物的生长。这些结果表明，肠道微生物组通过改变环境、创造抑制入侵生物生长的不利条件来保护宿主免受感染。这些结果有助于更好地设计未来的宿主-微生物研究，以进一步了解这种整体关系。

原始参考文献： Barron, AJ et al.细胞代表。 43、114087 (2024)