A SimpleIn VitroGut Model for Studying the Interaction betweenEscherichia coliand the Intestinal Commensal Microbiota in Cecal Mucus
ABSTRACTA novelin vitrogut model was developed to better understand the interactions betweenEscherichia coliand the mouse cecal mucus commensal microbiota. The gut model is simple and inexpensive while providing an environment that largely replicates the nonadherent mucus layer of the mouse cecum. 16S rRNA gene profiling of the cecal microbial communities of streptomycin-treated mice colonized withE. coliMG1655 orE. coliNissle 1917 and the gut model confirmed that the gut model properly reflected the community structure of the mouse intestine. Furthermore, the results from thein vitrogut model mimic the results of publishedin vivocompetitive colonization experiments. The gut model is initiated by the colonization of streptomycin-treated mice, and then the community is serially transferred in microcentrifuge tubes in an anaerobic environment generated in anaerobe jars. The nutritional makeup of the cecum is simulated in the gut model by using a medium consisting of porcine mucin, mouse cecal mucus, HEPES-Hanks buffer (pH 7.2), Cleland’s reagent, and agarose. Agarose was found to be essential for maintaining the stability of the microbial community in the gut model. The outcome of competitions betweenE. colistrains in thein vitrogut model is readily explained by the “restaurant hypothesis” of intestinal colonization. This simple model system potentially can be used to more fully understand how different members of the microbiota interact physically and metabolically during the colonization of the intestinal mucus layer.IMPORTANCEBoth commensal and pathogenic strains ofEscherichia coliappear to colonize the mammalian intestine by interacting physically and metabolically with other members of the microbiota in the mucus layer that overlays the cecal and colonic epithelium. However, the use of animal models and the complexity of the mammalian gut make it difficult to isolate experimental variables that might dictate the interactions betweenE. coliand other members of the microbiota, such as those that are critical for successful colonization. Here, we describe a simple and relatively inexpensivein vitrogut model that largely mimicsin vivoconditions and therefore can facilitate the manipulation of experimental variables for studying the interactions ofE. coliwith the intestinal microbiota.