Non-stochastic reassembly of a metabolically cohesive gut consortium shaped by N-acetyl-lactosamine-enriched fibers

Diet is one of the main factors shaping the human microbiome, yet our understanding of how specific dietary components influence microbial consortia assembly and subsequent stability in response to press disturbances – such as increasing resource availability (feeding rate) – is still incomplete. Th...

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Main Authors: Madison Moore, Hunter D. Whittington, Rebecca Knickmeyer, M. Andrea Azcarate-Peril, Jose M. Bruno-Bárcena
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2025-12-01
Series:Gut Microbes
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Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/19490976.2024.2440120
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author Madison Moore
Hunter D. Whittington
Rebecca Knickmeyer
M. Andrea Azcarate-Peril
Jose M. Bruno-Bárcena
author_facet Madison Moore
Hunter D. Whittington
Rebecca Knickmeyer
M. Andrea Azcarate-Peril
Jose M. Bruno-Bárcena
author_sort Madison Moore
collection DOAJ
description Diet is one of the main factors shaping the human microbiome, yet our understanding of how specific dietary components influence microbial consortia assembly and subsequent stability in response to press disturbances – such as increasing resource availability (feeding rate) – is still incomplete. This study explores the reproducible re-assembly, metabolic interplay, and compositional stability within microbial consortia derived from pooled stool samples of three healthy infants. Using a single-step packed-bed reactor (PBR) system, we assessed the reassembly and metabolic output of consortia exposed to lactose, glucose, galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS), and humanized GOS (hGOS). Our findings reveal that complex carbohydrates, especially those containing low inclusion (~1.25 gL−1) components present in human milk, such as N-acetyl-lactosamine (LacNAc), promote taxonomic, and metabolic stability under varying feeding rates, as shown by diversity metrics and network analysis. Targeted metabolomics highlighted distinct metabolic responses to different carbohydrates: GOS was linked to increased lactate, lactose to propionate, sucrose to butyrate, and CO2, and the introduction of bile salts with GOS or hGOS resulted in butyrate reduction and increased hydrogen production. This study validates the use of single-step PBRs for reliably studying microbial consortium stability and functionality in response to nutritional press disturbances, offering insights into the dietary modulation of microbial consortia and their ecological dynamics.
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spelling doaj-art-05624667854f44db9cc4c1e9ea5cf4902024-12-19T04:38:54ZengTaylor & Francis GroupGut Microbes1949-09761949-09842025-12-0117110.1080/19490976.2024.2440120Non-stochastic reassembly of a metabolically cohesive gut consortium shaped by N-acetyl-lactosamine-enriched fibersMadison Moore0Hunter D. Whittington1Rebecca Knickmeyer2M. Andrea Azcarate-Peril3Jose M. Bruno-Bárcena4Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USADepartment of Plant and Microbial Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USADepartment of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USADepartment of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, and UNC Microbiome Core, Center for Gastrointestinal Biology and Disease (CGIBD), School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USADepartment of Plant and Microbial Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USADiet is one of the main factors shaping the human microbiome, yet our understanding of how specific dietary components influence microbial consortia assembly and subsequent stability in response to press disturbances – such as increasing resource availability (feeding rate) – is still incomplete. This study explores the reproducible re-assembly, metabolic interplay, and compositional stability within microbial consortia derived from pooled stool samples of three healthy infants. Using a single-step packed-bed reactor (PBR) system, we assessed the reassembly and metabolic output of consortia exposed to lactose, glucose, galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS), and humanized GOS (hGOS). Our findings reveal that complex carbohydrates, especially those containing low inclusion (~1.25 gL−1) components present in human milk, such as N-acetyl-lactosamine (LacNAc), promote taxonomic, and metabolic stability under varying feeding rates, as shown by diversity metrics and network analysis. Targeted metabolomics highlighted distinct metabolic responses to different carbohydrates: GOS was linked to increased lactate, lactose to propionate, sucrose to butyrate, and CO2, and the introduction of bile salts with GOS or hGOS resulted in butyrate reduction and increased hydrogen production. This study validates the use of single-step PBRs for reliably studying microbial consortium stability and functionality in response to nutritional press disturbances, offering insights into the dietary modulation of microbial consortia and their ecological dynamics.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/19490976.2024.2440120Dietary modulationHMOmicrobial ecologynutritioninfant microbiota
spellingShingle Madison Moore
Hunter D. Whittington
Rebecca Knickmeyer
M. Andrea Azcarate-Peril
Jose M. Bruno-Bárcena
Non-stochastic reassembly of a metabolically cohesive gut consortium shaped by N-acetyl-lactosamine-enriched fibers
Gut Microbes
Dietary modulation
HMO
microbial ecology
nutrition
infant microbiota
title Non-stochastic reassembly of a metabolically cohesive gut consortium shaped by N-acetyl-lactosamine-enriched fibers
title_full Non-stochastic reassembly of a metabolically cohesive gut consortium shaped by N-acetyl-lactosamine-enriched fibers
title_fullStr Non-stochastic reassembly of a metabolically cohesive gut consortium shaped by N-acetyl-lactosamine-enriched fibers
title_full_unstemmed Non-stochastic reassembly of a metabolically cohesive gut consortium shaped by N-acetyl-lactosamine-enriched fibers
title_short Non-stochastic reassembly of a metabolically cohesive gut consortium shaped by N-acetyl-lactosamine-enriched fibers
title_sort non stochastic reassembly of a metabolically cohesive gut consortium shaped by n acetyl lactosamine enriched fibers
topic Dietary modulation
HMO
microbial ecology
nutrition
infant microbiota
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/19490976.2024.2440120
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