title: Vitamin B12 as a modulator of gut microbial ecology.
abstract: The microbial mechanisms and key metabolites that shape the composition of the human gut microbiota are largely unknown, impeding efforts to manipulate dysbiotic microbial communities toward stability and health. Vitamins, which by definition are not synthesized in sufficient quantities by the host and can mediate fundamental biological processes in microbes, represent an attractive target for reshaping microbial communities. Here, we discuss how vitamin B12 (cobalamin) impacts diverse host-microbe symbioses. Although cobalamin is synthesized by some human gut microbes, it is a precious resource in the gut and is likely not provisioned to the host in significant quantities. However, this vitamin may make an unrecognized contribution in shaping the structure and function of human gut microbial communities.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
authors.forename: Patrick H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Degnan
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant & Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
authors.forename: Michiko E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Taga
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbial Pathogenesis and Microbial Sciences Institute, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06516, USA. Electronic address: andrew.goodman@yale.edu.
authors.forename: Andrew L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Goodman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D045728:Corrinoids / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D041981:Gastrointestinal Tract / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D064307:Microbiota; D014805:Vitamin B 12 / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D045728:Corrinoids; D014805:Vitamin B 12