Durable coexistence of donor and recipient strains after fecal microbiota transplantation

Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) has shown efficacy in treating recurrent Clostridium difficile infection and is increasingly being applied to other gastrointestinal disorders, yet the fate of native and introduced microbial strains remains largely unknown. To quantify the extent of donor microbiota colonization, we monitored strain populations in fecal samples from a recent FMT study on metabolic syndrome patients using single-nucleotide variants in metagenomes. We found extensive coexistence of donor and recipient strains, persisting 3 months after treatment. Colonization success was greater for conspecific strains than for new species, the latter falling within fluctuation levels observed in healthy…

• EL
  Eli Lilly and Company
• A
  AstraZeneca
• D
  Danone
• EM
  European Molecular Biology Laboratory
• EA
  EMBL Australia
• ST
  Seres Therapeutics
• EC
  European Commission

  Awards: 600375, 305312, 268985, 261376, 250172
• DF
  Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
• ES
  European Synchrotron Radiation Facility
• AO
  Academy of Finland

  Awards: 141140, 271832
• NO
  Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek
• M
  Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
• NI
  National Institutes of Health

  Award: R01GM092802
• JS
  Japan Society for the Promotion of Science

  Award: 25440050
• WU
  Wageningen University and Research
• HE
  H2020 European Research Council
• HM
  H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

  Award: 600375
• FH
  FP7 Health

  Award: 305312