Selective knockout of gut bacteria

The manipulation of the gut microbiota with antibiotics has enabled the study of how perturbations in the microbiome influence physiological processes in animal models, but antibiotics’ broad action does not allow insights into how specific bacteria contribute. Gnotobiotic models, whereby germ-free animals are colonized with defined bacterial populations, can enable strain-specific studies, but their relevance in physiological settings is limited.

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41587-022-00016-y