Biogeographical distribution of gut microbiome composition and function is partially recapitulated by fecal transplantation into germ-free mice

Abstract

Fecal microbiota transplantation has been vital for establishing whether host phenotypes can be conferred through the microbiome. However, whether the existing microbial ecology along the mouse gastrointestinal tract can be recapitulated in germ-free mice colonized with stool remains unknown. We first identified microbes and their predicted functions specific to each of six intestinal regions in three cohorts of specific pathogen-free mice spanning two facilities. Of these region-specific microbes, the health-linked genus Akkermansia was consistently enriched in the lumen of the small intestine compared to the colon. Predictive functional modeling on 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing data recapitulated in shotgun sequencing data revealed increased microbial central metabolism, lipolytic fermentation, and cross-feeding in the small intestine, whereas butyrate synthesis was colon-enriched. Neuroactive compound metabolism also demonstrated regional specificity, including small intestine-enriched gamma-aminobutyric acid degradation and colon-enriched tryptophan degradation. Specifically, the jejunum and ileum stood out as sites with high predicted metabolic and neuromodulation activity. Differences between luminal and mucosal microbiomes within each site of the gastrointestinal tract were largely facility-specific, though there were a few consistent patterns in microbial metabolism in specific pathogen-free mice. These included luminal enrichment of central metabolism and cross-feeding within both the small intestine and the colon, and mucosal enrichment of butyrate synthesis within the colon. Across three cohorts of germ-free mice colonized with mice or human stool, compositional and functional region specificity were inconsistently reproduced. These results underscore the importance of investigating the spatial variation of the gut microbiome to better understand its impact on host physiology.