Article
Antibiotic administration alters the community structure of the gastrointestinal micobiota
Gut Microbes
(2010)
Abstract
We recently demonstrated that antibiotic administration has a reproducible effect on the community structure of the indigenous gastrointestinal microbiota of mice. In this addendum we report on additional experimentation using the antibiotic vancomycin. In accord with our previous findings, vancomycin administration results in consistent alteration of the microbiota of the cecal contents and the cecal mucosa. These alterations are largely reversed by a three-week period of recovery without antibiotics. In contrast to our previous results using other antibiotics, the alterations in community structure associated with vancomycin occured without a significant decrease in the overall bacterial biomass. These results indicate that different antibiotics have specific effects on the gut microbiota. This points the way towards targeted, therapeutic alteration of the gut bacterial community as a whole.
Disciplines
- Biology and
- Microbiology
Publication Date
June, 2010
DOI
10.4161/gmic.1.4.12614
Citation Information
Courtney Jaime Robinson and Vincent Bensan Young. "Antibiotic administration alters the community structure of the gastrointestinal micobiota" Gut Microbes Vol. 1 Iss. 4 (2010) p. 279 - 284 Available at: http://works.bepress.com/courtney-robinson/1/