Gastrointestinal system articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    The structure of the human gut microbiota has been shown to vary between populations. Tyakht et al.analyse the gut microbiota assembly from Russian individuals living in urban and rural areas, and compare these with previously studied populations.

    • Alexander V. Tyakht
    • , Elena S. Kostryukova
    •  & Vadim M. Govorun

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Calorie restriction has been shown to extend lifespan in diverse model systems, however, the mechanisms underlying this effect remain unclear. Zhang et al.show that calorie restriction changes the structure of the gut microbiota in mice, enriching for phylotypes positively correlated with lifespan.

    • Chenhong Zhang
    • , Shoufeng Li
    •  & Liping Zhao

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The gut microbiota produces metabolites such as short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), which can influence the development of obesity. Here Kimura et al.show that SCFAs act via the receptor GPR43, which acts as a sensor for excessive dietary energy and controls body energy utilization as well as metabolic homoeostasis.

    • Ikuo Kimura
    • , Kentaro Ozawa
    •  & Gozoh Tsujimoto

  • Article |

    Epithelial cells in the colon mainly use microbial fermentation products as energy sources. Here Okada et al. find that lactate produced by commensal Lactobacillus murinusregulates colonic epithelial cell proliferation and show that mice are more susceptible to carcinogens when refed after a period of starvation.

    • Toshihiko Okada
    • , Shinji Fukuda
    •  & Taeko Dohi

  • Article |

    Changes in the biosynthesis of fatty acids can influence tissue insulin sensitivity and the development of metabolic diseases. Eissing and colleagues show that de novolipogenesis in liver and adipose tissue is linked to metabolic health in humans and can be modulated by bariatric surgery.

    • Leah Eissing
    • , Thomas Scherer
    •  & Ludger Scheja

  • Article |

    Humans tend to adopt one of a limited number of different bacterial community structures in the gut, known as enterotypes. Moeller et al.now show that these microbial fingerprints are conserved in chimpanzees, and that individuals can switch between enterotypes over periods of several years.

    • Andrew H. Moeller
    • , Patrick H. Degnan
    •  & Howard Ochman

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Many mammals are born with an immature intestinal epithelium, which adapts to a changing diet during the weaning period. Muncanet al. show that the transcriptional repressor Blimp1is expressed in the intestine of mice at birth, and that expression is lost at the transition to the weaning stage.

    • Vanesa Muncan
    • , Jarom Heijmans
    •  & Gijs R. van den Brink

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The gut is populated by a myriad of microorganisms and how the immune system tolerates their presence is of great interest. Here, by studying colon morphology in multiple knockout mice, the authors demonstrate a potential role for prostaglandin E2 and SOCS1 in mediating immune tolerance.

    • Takatoshi Chinen
    • , Kyoko Komai
    •  & Akihiko Yoshimura

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