Sugar ABC transporter repertoires predict ecological dynamics in gut microbiome communities

Area of Science:

• Microbiology
• Genomics
• Human Health

Background:

• The gut microbiome is crucial for health, but modern diets can disrupt its balance.
• The specific impact of increased sugar consumption on the gut microbiome is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify the mechanisms by which dietary sugars influence gut microbiome composition.
• To determine if specific bacterial genes predict responses to dietary sugars.

Main Methods:

• Comparative genomics and gene deletion experiments in *Escherichia coli*.
• Gnotobiotic mouse models with the Oligo-Mouse-Microbiota (OMM15) consortium.
• Analysis of longitudinal human diet-microbiome data.

Main Results:

• Bacteria with sugar ABC (ATP-binding cassette) transporters show enhanced growth and competitive advantage in the presence of sugars.
• Deletion of a specific sugar ABC transporter gene impaired *E. coli*'s ability to compete in a complex microbial community.
• Dietary sugar supplementation in mice led to the selective expansion of sugar ABC transporter-positive bacteria.
• Human data showed a significant correlation between dietary sugar intake and the abundance of sugar ABC transporter-positive bacterial genera.

Conclusions:

• The carriage of sugar ABC transporters is a key genomic predictor of bacterial response to dietary sugars.
• This mechanism explains major shifts in gut bacteria populations observed with increased sugar consumption.
• Findings suggest potential strategies for modulating the gut microbiome based on sugar transporter activity.