Dietary amino acids regulate Salmonella colonization via microbiota-dependent mechanisms in the mouse gut
The gut microbiota confers host protection against pathogen colonization early after infection. Several mechanisms underlying the protection have been described, but the contributions of nutrient competition versus direct inhibition are controversial. Using an ex vivo model of Salmonella growth in the mouse cecum with its indigenous microbes, we find that nutrient limitation and typical inhibitory factors alone cannot prevent pathogen growth. However, the addition of certain amino acids markedly reverses the microbiota's ability to suppress pathogen growth. Enhanced Salmonella colonization after antibiotic treatment is ablated by exclusion of dietary protein, which requires the presence of the microbiota. Thus, dietary protein and amino acids are important regulators of colonization resistance.
Authors
- Joseph M. Pickard (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9501-0441)
- Gustavo Caballero-Flores (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0640-1521)
- Tomoyoshi Soga (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9502-2509)
- Shinji Fukuda (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5161-9880)
- Gabriel Núñez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6529-2695)
- Roberta Caruso (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9891-0082)
- Steffen Porwollik (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9616-6141)
- Michael McClelland (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1788-9347)
- Naohiro Inohara (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4215-9349)
Institutions
- University of Wisconsin–Madison (US)
- University of Tsukuba (JP)
- Kanagawa Institute of Technology (JP)
- Keio University (JP)
- University of California, Irvine (US)
- University of Michigan (US)
- Juntendo University (JP)
- Michigan Center for Translational Pathology (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2025-05-07
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-59706-1
- Citations
- 9
- Primary Topic
- Gut microbiota and health
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 7.25
Funders
- U.S. Department of Agriculture
- Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development
- National Institutes of Health
- National Institute of Food and Agriculture
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
- Core Research for Evolutional Science and Technology
- Precursory Research for Embryonic Science and Technology
- Exploratory Research for Advanced Technology