Engineered bacteria for the modulation of intestinal physiology, inflammation, and behavior along the microbiome-gut-brain axis

Bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract play an important role in intestinal motility, inflammation, homeostasis, and behavior. Bacteria, through the natural synthesis of neuroactive compounds and secondary metabolites, can modulate the host immune system and communicate with the host along the signaling pathway along the gut-brain axis. Here, we functionally design, develop, test, and characterize a platform for the study of microbial-host interactions using advancements in the field of synthetic biology. First, we describe the engineering of Escherichia coli Nissle to biosynthesize serotonin within the mammalian gut using a native-plasmid optimized approach. Serotonin is crucial for neurotransmission throughout the body and may be playing a role in microbial gut-brain communication. In the gastrointestinal tract, serotonin regulates intestinal motility, cell turnover, intestinal inflammation, and gastrointestinal homeostasis. Upon serial daily oral gavages, our engineered bacterium populates a murine colon to produce serotonin locally in the mucosa layers along the epithelial lining. Changes in host physiology were observed including decreased gastrointestinal motility, increased colonic Muc2 expression, induction of host TPH2, responsible for serotonin biosynthesis in enteric neurons, and upregulation of serotonin receptors HTR3, HTR4, and HTR7 in the colon. Behavioral tests revealed a statistically significant decrease in anxiety and depression in stress-induced environments in mice treated with the engineered bacterium. This work suggests that gut bacteria engineered to modulate host gut-brain axis may have both scientific and clinical uses to study microbial-host interactions and treat gastrointestinal and behavioral mood disorders in humans. Second, we engineered bacteria to produce exogenous butyrate and other SCFAs in the murine gut. Short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) play an important role in intestinal homeostasis, fluid dynamics, inflammation, oxidative stress, and intestinal hypersensitivity and motility. With this development, we characterized the effects of our butyrate-producing bacteria on a high-fat diet and DSS-induced colitis model within the colon. Although energetically burdensome to produce, our strains produced butyrate in the colon at higher density in an actively inflamed colitis model. After 14 days of oral administration, our engineered strain (EcN:B) increased the colon length of normal wild-type mice, in high fat fed mice, and in mice with recovering and actively inflamed DSS-induced colitis. EcN:B increased mucosal barrier thickness, upregulated gene expression of the barrier integrity markers Cldn1, Ocln, Zo1, and altered crypt and villus height during inflammation recovery. Furthermore, as butyrate is known to induce Foxp3+ Regulatory T cells, we saw a 13.01% percent increase in Foxp3+ cells in the colon of mice fed our engineered bacteria. This work suggests that synthetic gut bacteria engineered to produce short chain fatty acids may have future clinical uses to treat patients with inflammatory bowel disease including Crohn’s and Colitis with future potential to serve as a therapeutic for irritable bowel syndrome, idiopathic constipation, obesity, and colorectal cancer. This platform, with the use of synthetic biology to natively engineer Escherichia coli Nissle to produce bioactive compounds in the distal gastrointestinal tract, creates a framework for future characterization of bacterial-host communication and future microbial-based therapeutics

Bird populations most exposed to climate change are less sensitive to climatic variation

The phenology of many species shows strong sensitivity to climate change; however, with few large scale intra-specific studies it is unclear how such sensitivity varies over a species' range. We document large intra-specific variation in phenological sensitivity to temperature using laying date information from 67 populations of two co-familial European songbirds, the great tit (Parus major) and blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus), covering a large part of their breeding range. Populations inhabiting deciduous habitats showed stronger phenological sensitivity than those in evergreen and mixed habitats. However, populations with higher sensitivity tended to have experienced less rapid change in climate over the past decades, such that populations with high phenological sensitivity will not necessarily exhibit the strongest phenological advancement. Our results show that to effectively assess the impact of climate change on phenology across a species' range it will be necessary to account for intra-specific variation in phenological sensitivity, climate change exposure, and the ecological characteristics of a population. Intra-specific variations may contribute to heterogeneous responses to climate change across a species' range. Here, the authors investigate the phenology of two bird species across their breeding ranges, and find that their sensitivity to temperature is uncoupled from exposure to climate change.Peer reviewe

Temperature synchronizes temporal variation in laying dates across European hole-nesting passerines

Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Authors. Ecology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The Ecological Society of America.Identifying the environmental drivers of variation in fitness-related traits is a central objective in ecology and evolutionary biology. Temporal fluctuations of these environmental drivers are often synchronized at large spatial scales. Yet, whether synchronous environmental conditions can generate spatial synchrony in fitness-related trait values (i.e., correlated temporal trait fluctuations across populations) is poorly understood. Using data from long-term monitored populations of blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus, n = 31), great tits (Parus major, n = 35), and pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca, n = 20) across Europe, we assessed the influence of two local climatic variables (mean temperature and mean precipitation in February–May) on spatial synchrony in three fitness-related traits: laying date, clutch size, and fledgling number. We found a high degree of spatial synchrony in laying date but a lower degree in clutch size and fledgling number for each species. Temperature strongly influenced spatial synchrony in laying date for resident blue tits and great tits but not for migratory pied flycatchers. This is a relevant finding in the context of environmental impacts on populations because spatial synchrony in fitness-related trait values among populations may influence fluctuations in vital rates or population abundances. If environmentally induced spatial synchrony in fitness-related traits increases the spatial synchrony in vital rates or population abundances, this will ultimately increase the risk of extinction for populations and species. Assessing how environmental conditions influence spatiotemporal variation in trait values improves our mechanistic understanding of environmental impacts on populations.Peer reviewe

Interaction of climate change with effects of conspecific and heterospecific density on reproduction

We studied the relationship between temperature and the coexistence of great titParus majorand blue titCyanistes caeruleus, breeding in 75 study plots across Europe and North Africa. We expected an advance in laying date and a reduction in clutch size during warmer springs as a general response to climate warming and a delay in laying date and a reduction in clutch size during warmer winters due to density-dependent effects. As expected, as spring temperature increases laying date advances and as winter temperature increases clutch size is reduced in both species. Density of great tit affected the relationship between winter temperature and laying date in great and blue tit. Specifically, as density of great tit increased and temperature in winter increased both species started to reproduce later. Density of blue tit affected the relationship between spring temperature and blue and great tit laying date. Thus, both species start to reproduce earlier with increasing spring temperature as density of blue tit increases, which was not an expected outcome, since we expected that increasing spring temperature should advance laying date, while increasing density should delay it cancelling each other out. Climate warming and its interaction with density affects clutch size of great tits but not of blue tits. As predicted, great tit clutch size is reduced more with density of blue tits as temperature in winter increases. The relationship between spring temperature and density on clutch size of great tits depends on whether the increase is in density of great tit or blue tit. Therefore, an increase in temperature negatively affected the coexistence of blue and great tits differently in both species. Thus, blue tit clutch size was unaffected by the interaction effect of density with temperature, while great tit clutch size was affected in multiple ways by these interactions terms.Peer reviewe

Variation in clutch size in relation to nest size in birds

Peer reviewe

Diet as a treatment for inflammatory bowel disease: is it ready for prime time?

Purpose of review Diet remains an important topic for patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), yet few guidelines for dietary recommendations exist. There is a growing interest in the use of diet as treatment or adjuvant therapy for both ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. Here, we highlight the latest evidence on the use of diet for treatment of symptoms, active disease and maintenance of remission in ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. Recent findings The Crohn's Disease Exclusion Diet (CDED) and the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) are studied diets that have gained popularity, but there is growing interest in the use and efficacy of less restrictive diets such as the Mediterranean diet. Recent data suggest healthful dietary patterns alone, with an emphasis on whole foods that are high in vegetable fibre and that promote less consumption of ultra-processed foods may also help achieve remission in patients with ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. In this review, we summarize the literature on diet as treatment for IBD. We highlight the latest clinical dietary studies, randomized clinical trials, as well as new and emerging diets for the treatment of IBD

Biosynthesis of the Essential Fatty Acid Oxidation Cofactor Carnitine Is Stimulated in Heart and Liver after a Single Bout of Exercise in Mice

We determined whether one single bout of exercise stimulates carnitine biosynthesis and carnitine uptake in liver and heart. Free carnitine (FC) in plasma was assayed using acetyltransferase and [14C]acetyl-CoA in Swiss Webster mice after 1 hour of moderate-intensity treadmill running or 4 hours and 8 hours into recovery. Liver and heart were removed under the same conditions for measurement of carnitine biosynthesis enzymes (liver butyrobetaine hydroxylase, γ-BBH; heart trimethyllysine dioxygenase, TMLD), organic cation transporter-2 (OCTN2, carnitine transporter), and liver peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha (PPARα, transcription factor for γ-BBH and OCTN2 synthesis). In exercised mice, FC levels in plasma decreased while heart and liver OCTN2 protein expressed increased, reflecting active uptake of FC. During recovery, the rise in FC to control levels was associated with increased liver γ-BBH expression. Protein expression of PPARα was stimulated in liver after exercise and during recovery. Interestingly, heart TMLD protein was also detected after exercise. Acute exercise stimulates carnitine uptake in liver and heart. The rapid return of FC levels in plasma after exercise indicates carnitine biosynthesis by liver is stimulated to establish carnitine homeostasis. Our results suggest that exercise may benefit patients with carnitine deficiency syndromes

Biosynthesis of the Essential Fatty Acid Oxidation Cofactor Carnitine Is Stimulated in Heart and Liver after a Single Bout of Exercise in Mice

We determined whether one single bout of exercise stimulates carnitine biosynthesis and carnitine uptake in liver and heart. Free carnitine (FC) in plasma was assayed using acetyltransferase and [14C]acetyl-CoA in Swiss Webster mice after 1 hour of moderate-intensity treadmill running or 4 hours and 8 hours into recovery. Liver and heart were removed under the same conditions for measurement of carnitine biosynthesis enzymes (liver butyrobetaine hydroxylase, γ-BBH; heart trimethyllysine dioxygenase, TMLD), organic cation transporter-2 (OCTN2, carnitine transporter), and liver peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha (PPARα, transcription factor for γ-BBH and OCTN2 synthesis). In exercised mice, FC levels in plasma decreased while heart and liver OCTN2 protein expressed increased, reflecting active uptake of FC. During recovery, the rise in FC to control levels was associated with increased liver γ-BBH expression. Protein expression of PPARα was stimulated in liver after exercise and during recovery. Interestingly, heart TMLD protein was also detected after exercise. Acute exercise stimulates carnitine uptake in liver and heart. The rapid return of FC levels in plasma after exercise indicates carnitine biosynthesis by liver is stimulated to establish carnitine homeostasis. Our results suggest that exercise may benefit patients with carnitine deficiency syndromes