Genomic and metabolic adaptations of Methanobrevibacter smithii to the human gut.

The human gut is home to trillions of microbes, thousands of bacterial phylotypes, as well as hydrogen-consuming methanogenic archaea. Studies in gnotobiotic mice indicate that Methanobrevibacter smithii, the dominant archaeon in the human gut ecosystem, affects the specificity and efficiency of bacterial digestion of dietary polysaccharides, thereby influencing host calorie harvest and adiposity. Metagenomic studies of the gut microbial communities of genetically obese mice and their lean littermates have shown that the former contain an enhanced representation of genes involved in polysaccharide degradation, possess more archaea, and exhibit a greater capacity to promote adiposity when transplanted into germ-free recipients. These findings have led to the hypothesis that M. smithii may be a therapeutic target for reducing energy harvest in obese humans. To explore this possibility, we have sequenced its 1,853,160-bp genome and compared it to other human gut-associated M. smithii strains and other Archaea. We have also examined M. smithii's transcriptome and metabolome in gnotobiotic mice that do or do not harbor Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, a prominent saccharolytic bacterial member of our gut microbiota. Our results indicate that M. smithii is well equipped to persist in the distal intestine through (i) production of surface glycans resembling those found in the gut mucosa, (ii) regulated expression of adhesin-like proteins, (iii) consumption of a variety of fermentation products produced by saccharolytic bacteria, and (iv) effective competition for nitrogenous nutrient pools. These findings provide a framework for designing strategies to change the representation and/or properties of M. smithii in the human gut microbiota.

Evolution of symbiotic bacteria in the distal human intestine.

The adult human intestine contains trillions of bacteria, representing hundreds of species and thousands of subspecies. Little is known about the selective pressures that have shaped and are shaping this community's component species, which are dominated by members of the Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes divisions. To examine how the intestinal environment affects microbial genome evolution, we have sequenced the genomes of two members of the normal distal human gut microbiota, Bacteroides vulgatus and Bacteroides distasonis, and by comparison with the few other sequenced gut and non-gut Bacteroidetes, analyzed their niche and habitat adaptations. The results show that lateral gene transfer, mobile elements, and gene amplification have played important roles in affecting the ability of gut-dwelling Bacteroidetes to vary their cell surface, sense their environment, and harvest nutrient resources present in the distal intestine. Our findings show that these processes have been a driving force in the adaptation of Bacteroidetes to the distal gut environment, and emphasize the importance of considering the evolution of humans from an additional perspective, namely the evolution of our microbiomes.