A6: Symbiosis and competition factors as survival strategies of commensal bacteria
Group Leader
Prof. Dr. Julia Frick
Interfaculty Institute of Microbiology and Infection Medicine (IMIT)
Department of Medical Microbiology and Hygiene
Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen
Eldriede-Aulhorn-Straße 6
72076 Tübingen
Phone: +49-7071 29-82352
Fax: +49-7071 29-5440
Email: julia-stefanie.frick(at)med.uni-tuebingen.de
PhD Student
Thomas Hagemann Gutter
Phone: +49-7071 29-81534 / 29-81529
Email: thomas.hagemann@med.uni-tuebingen.de
Summary
The intestinal microbiota of healthy humans harbours up to 70% Firmicutes and around 30% Bacteroidetes whereas Enterobacteriaceae are only represented in a very low abundance. Various studies revealed a compositional shift of intestinal microbiota in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients characterized by a decrease of Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes and an outgrowth of Enterobacteriaceae in states of acute inflammation. We showed an association of a commensal E. coli strain with induction of intestinal inflammation in different mouse models of IBD and association of Bacteroides vulgatus with prevention from E. coli-induced inflammation. Therefore, understanding the survival strategies of E. coli in competition or symbiosis with Bacteroidetes for gut colonization represents a major challenge, as these mechanisms contribute to the composition of the intestinal microbiota and thereby mediate either immune balance or the disease defining state of intestinal inflammation.