Disease-specific loss of microbial cross-feeding interactions in the human gut

Many gut microorganisms critical to human health rely on nutrients produced by each other for survival; however, these cross-feeding interactions are still challenging to quantify and remain poorly characterized.   Abstract Here, we introduce a Metabolite Exchange Score (MES) to quantify those interactions. Using metabolic models of prokaryotic metagenome-assembled genomes from over 1600 individuals, MES…

Upper small intestine microbiome in obesity and related metabolic disorders: A new field of investigation

Highlights Upper small intestine (USI) microbiome is crucial in nutrient absorption and digestion. High-fat diet greatly impacts USI microbiome diversity and composition in rodents. Bariatric surgery and inulin aid in the recovery of USI microbiome in HFD-fed mice Metagenomic richness of USI microbiome inversely correlates with insulin resistance. USI microbiome research in obesity is still…