Elucidating human gut microbiota interactions that robustly inhibit diverse Clostridioides difficile strains across different nutrient landscapes.
Publication Title
Nat Commun
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
8-28-2024
Keywords
washington; isb; Clostridioides difficile; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Humans; Animals; Mice; Clostridium Infections; Coculture Techniques; Nutrients; Bacterial Toxins; Microbial Interactions; Clostridium; Female; Antibiosis; Mice, Inbred C57BL
Abstract
The human gut pathogen Clostridioides difficile displays substantial inter-strain genetic variability and confronts a changeable nutrient landscape in the gut. We examined how human gut microbiota inter-species interactions influence the growth and toxin production of various C. difficile strains across different nutrient environments. Negative interactions influencing C. difficile growth are prevalent in an environment containing a single highly accessible resource and sparse in an environment containing C. difficile-preferred carbohydrates. C. difficile toxin production displays significant community-context dependent variation and does not trend with growth-mediated inter-species interactions. C. difficile strains exhibit differences in interactions with Clostridium scindens and the ability to compete for proline. Further, C. difficile shows substantial differences in transcriptional profiles in co-culture with C. scindens or Clostridium hiranonis. C. difficile exhibits massive alterations in metabolism and other cellular processes in co-culture with C. hiranonis, reflecting their similar metabolic niches. C. hiranonis uniquely inhibits the growth and toxin production of diverse C. difficile strains across different nutrient environments and robustly ameliorates disease severity in mice. In sum, understanding the impact of C. difficile strain variability and nutrient environments on inter-species interactions could help improve the effectiveness of anti-C. difficile strategies.
Area of Special Interest
Digestive Health
Specialty/Research Institute
Gastroenterology
DOI
10.1038/s41467-024-51062-w
