Antibiotics and the gut microbiota

Antibiotics have been a cornerstone of innovation in the fields of public health, agriculture, and medicine. However, recent studies have shed new light on the collateral damage they impart on the indigenous host-associated communities. These drugs have been found to alter the taxonomic, genomic, and functional capacity of the human gut microbiota, with effects that are rapid and sometimes persistent. Broad-spectrum antibiotics reduce bacterial diversity while expanding and collapsing membership of specific indigenous taxa. Furthermore, antibiotic treatment selects for resistant bacteria, increases opportunities for horizontal gene transfer, and enables intrusion of pathogenic organisms through depletion of…

• HH
  Howard Hughes Medical Institute
• NI
  National Institutes of Health
• DT
  Defense Threat Reduction Agency

  Awards: HDTRA1-14-1-0006, HDTRA1
• SB
  Stanford Bio-X
• OO
  Office of Naval Research