Study shows how bacteria in stomach help in constipation

Researchers observed that B. longum strains with the abfA cluster of genes may reduce constipation by enhancing the guts utilisation of arabinan, an indigestible fibre...

We established the causal link between a genetic variantthe abfA clusterto the key functional difference of probiotic B. longum in multiple model organisms, including mice and humans, and provided mechanistic and ecological insights into how a single gene cluster can affect the gut motility of hosts through arabinan metabolism, said Qixiao Zhai of Jiangnan University, one of the papers co-senior authors...

Zhai, Zhang, and Shi Huang of the University of Hong Kong, the papers third co-senior author, set out to identify and systematically validate the key genetic factors of exogenous probiotics or resident gut microbiota affecting gastrointestinal motility..

In the double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial, supplementation with abfA-cluster-carrying B. longum, but not an abfA-deficient strain, enriched arabinan-utilization residents, increased beneficial metabolites, and improved constipation symptoms...

Collectively, this study identified and systematically characterized a key genetic factor responsible for arabinan utilization that addressed one critical challenge in the probiotic field, namely widespread yet unknown strain specificity in probiotic treatment efficacy, Huang said.. Our proof-of-concept study also established generalizable principles for the rational development of colonizable, functional probiotics with persistent treatment efficacy in multiple model organisms...

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