ulcerative colitisA team of researchers led by UO microbiologist Jarrod Smith in the laboratory of Karen Guillemin report their findings in a paper published July 28 in"We often think of the mucus as a lubricant lining, kind of inert," said Guillemin, a professor in the Institute of Molecular Biology in the College of Arts and Sciences."But this work reveals that theare responding to particular chemical signals in the lining, and that can change bacterial physiology.
Guillemin's team looked at Aeromonas bacteria, which are a key part of the zebrafish microbiome. In a healthy zebrafish gut, Aeromonas cells aggregate in large clumps in a specific region of the intestine. But Aeromonas bacteria engineered to lack that surface molecule didn't congregate properly, the researchers showed. Instead of forming large aggregates, the bacteria operated as lone wolves and ended up in parts of the gut where they wouldn't normally be. That, in turn, triggered inflammation.