Lactobacillus from the Altered Schaedler Flora maintain IFN? homeostasis to promote behavioral stress resilience.
The gut microbiome consists of trillions of bacteria, fungi, and viruses that inhabit the digestive tract. These communities are sensitive to disruption from environmental exposures ranging from diet changes to illness. Disruption of the community of lactic acid producing bacteria, Lactobaccillacea, has been well documented in mood disorders and stress exposure. In fact, oral supplement with many Lactobacillus species can ameliorate these effects, preventing depression- and anxiety-like behavior.  Here, we utilize a gnotobiotic mouse colonized with the Altered Schaedler Flora to remove the two native species of Lactobaccillacea. Using this novel microbial community, we found that the Lactobacillus species themselves, and not the disrupted microbial communities are protective from environmental stressors. Further, we determine that Lactobaccillacea are maintaining homeostatic IFN? levels which are mediating these behavioral and circuit level responses. By utilizing the Altered Schaedler Flora, we have gained new insight into how probiotics influence behavior and provide novel methods to study potential therapies to treat mood disorders. Overall design: Microbiome comparative analysis via 16S sequencing of feces of C57Bl6J mice.