Strain-level immunomodulatory variation of gut bacteria

The gut microbiota and the immune system have co-evolved to interact and cooperate in many ways. A recent study characterizing the immunomodulatory effects of over 60 different human-derived gut microbes across phyla showed that bacteria-induced immunomodulations are not dictated by the bacterial phylogeny. Yet, it remains unclear whether strains from the same species induce the same immunomodulatory effects on the host. We analyzed the strain-level data from this recent study and found that strains from the same species can induce distinct and sometimes even opposing immunophenotypes. Hence, we suggest that the immunomodulatory capabilities of gut bacteria can be strain-specific.

Automated summary

The gut microbiota and the immune system have evolved together to interact and cooperate in various ways, with different strains of gut bacteria from the same species potentially inducing varying immunophenotypes in the host. This suggests that the immunomodulatory capabilities of gut bacteria may be strain-specific.