Metabolic fluorine labeling and hotspot imaging of dynamic gut microbiota in mice
Dongxia Chen, Junnan Guo, Ao Li, Chengjie Sun, Huibin Lin, Huibin Lin, Hongyu Lin, Hongyu Lin, Chaoyong Yang, Wei Wang, Jinhao Gao
Abstract
Real-time localization and microbial activity information of indigenous gut microbiota over an extended period of time remains a challenge with existing visualizing methods. Here, we report a metabolic fluorine labeling (MEFLA)–based strategy for monitoring the dynamic gut microbiota via 19 F magnetic resonance imaging ( 19 F MRI). In situ labeling of different microbiota subgroups is achieved by using a panel of peptidoglycan-targeting MEFLA probes containing 19 F atoms of different chemical shifts, and subsequent real-time in vivo imaging is accomplished by multiplexed hotspot 19 F MRI with high sensitivity and unlimited penetration. Using this method, we realize extended visualization (>24 hours) of native gut microbes located at different intestinal sections and semiquantitative analysis of their metabolic dynamics modulated by various conditions, such as the host death and different β-lactam antibiotics. Our strategy holds great potential for noninvasive and real-time assessing of the metabolic activities and locations of the highly dynamic gut microbiota.