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MICROBIOME AND METABOLISM

A microbial metabolite linked to fat accumulation

Nature Metabolism volume 3, pages 1594–1595 (2021)Cite this article

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Whether and how host energy metabolism can be controlled by commensal microorganisms remains controversial. New work shows that the microbe-derived metabolite δ-valerobetaine contributes to obesity and hepatic steatosis by modulating mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation and increasing lipid storage in the adipose tissue and liver.

To first identify microbiome-dependent metabolites, the authors took a group of three-week-old germ-free mice, and introduced microbiota through exposure to bedding from conventionally housed mice. After three weeks, they compared the metabolomic profiles of these mice to the germ-free controls. In samples of liver and liver mitochondria, they identified a highly altered metabolite, and through a series of careful experiments, pinpointed this metabolite as δ-valerobetaine. In the conventional mice, this metabolite was present in multiple tissues, plasma and cecal contents. However, it was undetectable in samples from germ-free mice, which lack microbiota. Similarly, ex vivo incubation of cecal contents from conventional, but not germ-free, mice resulted in production of δ-valerobetaine, supporting a role for microbiota in the generation of δ-valerobetaine (consistent with previous reports3).

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Fig. 1: A microbial metabolite that alters host metabolism by promoting adiposity.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA

    Jane F. Ferguson

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  1. Jane F. Ferguson
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Correspondence to Jane F. Ferguson.

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The author declares no competing interests.

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Ferguson, J.F. A microbial metabolite linked to fat accumulation. Nat Metab 3, 1594–1595 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-021-00495-4

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