Project overview
Metabolic activity of bacteria is linked with increased functionality, e.g. proliferation, production of host- and microbial community-relevant metabolites. We hypothesise that metabolically active bacteria are spatially stratified and interact more actively with the host to maintain homeostasis or when perturbed contribute to disease. Host-secreted compounds and nutrient gradients contribute to differences in microbial community composition and activity in different locations. This project aims at a functional understanding of the metabolic activity landscape of the intestinal microbiome in situ at an unprecedented resolution, i.e. on the single cell level. It addresses how metabolic activity of individual microbiota shapes the microbiota as a whole and its interaction with the host and its immune system during steady state and when disturbed, for instance due to inflammation. We will use in vitro and in vivo models of immune system-microbiota interaction to decipher how the adaptive immune system via production of mucosal antibodies affects metabolic activity of distinct commensal strains and vice versa. Thus, this project will help resolve the ecological and functional interactions within the microbial community, in potentially dedicated nutritional niches and with the host in the context of homeostasis and when perturbed in chronic inflammation.
