Colonization dynamics of altered Schaedler flora is influenced by gender, aging, and Helicobacter hepaticus infection in the intestines of Swiss Webster mice.
The distribution and colonization levels of the altered Schaedler flora (ASF) in their natural hosts are poorly understood. Intestinal colonization levels of the eight ASF strains in outbred Swiss Webster mice with or without Helicobacter hepaticus infection were characterized by real-time quantitative PCR. All ASF strains were detected in the cecum and colon, but some strains displayed significant variation in colonization levels with host age, gender, and H. hepaticus infection status.
Ge
Zhongming
Z
Division of Comparative Medicine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 16-873, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. zge@mit.edu
Feng
Yang
Y
Taylor
Nancy S
NS
Ohtani
Masahiro
M
Polz
Martin F
MF
Schauer
David B
DB
Fox
James G
JG
D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D021461:Animals, Outbred Strains; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000254:growth & development*; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D041981:Gastrointestinal Tract / Q000382:microbiology*; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D044923:Helicobacter hepaticus / Q000254:growth & development / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D051379:Mice; D012737:Sex Factors