title: The composition of the gut microbiota shapes the colon mucus barrier.
abstract: Two C57BL/6 mice colonies maintained in two rooms of the same specific pathogen-free (SPF) facility were found to have different gut microbiota and a mucus phenotype that was specific for each colony. The thickness and growth of the colon mucus were similar in the two colonies. However, one colony had mucus that was impenetrable to bacteria or beads the size of bacteria-which is comparable to what we observed in free-living wild mice-whereas the other colony had an inner mucus layer penetrable to bacteria and beads. The different properties of the mucus depended on the microbiota, as they were transmissible by transfer of caecal microbiota to germ-free mice. Mice with an impenetrable mucus layer had increased amounts of Erysipelotrichi, whereas mice with a penetrable mucus layer had higher levels of Proteobacteria and TM7 bacteria in the distal colon mucus. Thus, our study shows that bacteria and their community structure affect mucus barrier properties in ways that can have implications for health and disease. It also highlights that genetically identical animals housed in the same facility can have rather distinct microbiotas and barrier structures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Biochemistry, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Hedvig E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Jakobsson
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Biochemistry, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Ana M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Piñeiro
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Biochemistry, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: André
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schütte
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Biochemistry, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ermund
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Safety and Infection Biology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Biosciences Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Preben
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Boysen
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden Department of Clinical Immunology and Transfusion Medicine, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Mats
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bemark
authors.affiliation: The Wallenberg Laboratory, Department of Molecular and Clinical Medicine, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Felix
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sommer
authors.affiliation: The Wallenberg Laboratory, Department of Molecular and Clinical Medicine, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Fredrik
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bäckhed
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Biochemistry, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Gunnar C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Hansson
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Biochemistry, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden malin.johansson@medkem.gu.se.
authors.forename: Malin E V
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Johansson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000166:cytology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D064307:Microbiota / Q000502:physiology; D009093:Mucus / Q000166:cytology / Q000382:microbiology; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D013047:Specific Pathogen-Free Organisms
chemical_list: D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
keywords: Bacteria; Colon; Intestine; MUC2; Mucus