PhaStGut: Phage-Host interaction
An increasing number of human diseases is associated with an altered intestinal microbiota. The microbiota consists of trillions of microbes including viruses amongst which bacteriophages (phages) that predate on bacteria are the most abundant. Phages are important effectors and indicators of human health and disease by managing specific bacterial population structures and by interacting with the mucosal immune system. Although metagenome-based studies have addressed their abundance, diversity and stability over time in the gut, little is known on the role of phages in microbiome homeostasis and their impact on global microbiome functions. To overcome this limitation, we employ the OMM model and strain-specific phages in stably colonized gnotobiotic mice. We will conduct an in-depth characterization of phage ecology and study their influence on the microbiome and related functions in the gut. In addition, we study the mechanisms underlying stable coexistence of phages and their host bacteria in the gut. The final goal is to refine strategies for phage-based microbiome engineering. In PhaStGut, a DFG-ANR funded project, we collaborate in an interdisciplinary team of four partners combining meta-transcriptomics, meta-metabolomics and 3D DNA capture in gnotobiotic mice. Thereby, we will uncover mechanisms governing the dynamic interplay between phages and their host bacteria that shape the mammalian microbiota.
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