B vitamin acquisition by gut commensal bacteria
Emily E. Putnam, Andrew L. Goodman
Abstract
The mammalian gut microbiome is one of the densest known microbial communities These microbial communities are largely composed of four major phyla (Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, and Actinobacteria). Our understanding of the factors that shape gut microbial community composition is largely based on the "primary economy" of this ecosystem: the flow of carbon from the diet to bacterial biomass and fermentation products However, many enzymatic reactions in this primary economy depend on cofactors that are derived from vitamins, which are much less abundant but no less important. Vitamins may play a critical role in driving microbiome dynamics and thus provide new avenues for modification of the microbiome.