About Microbiomes
There are as many microbial cells in our body as human and microbial genes outnumber our own 30:1. In any metabolomics profile of a biological sample, we can only identify 2-10% of the metabolites we identify. We have barely scratched the surface of understanding the metabolite repertoire produced by our microbiome and how these molecules contribute to our health and homeostasis every day.
Pheynalanocholic acid, a microbially conjugated bile acid (MCBA)
Bile acids and the Gut Microbiome
The focus of our gut microbiome research is on the interaction between the microbiome and bile acids. We have discovered a new microbial chemical language that manipulates our own physiology by modifying bile acids. Our discoveries include new bile acids conjugated with various amino acids and the microbes that make them. This work involved metabolomics, metagenomics and mouse models to understand how microbes biochemically shape these important molecules to the human gut.
We have two manuscripts on this work in Nature https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2047-9
Bile Salt Hydrloase, the enzyme responsible for the production of microbially conjugated bile acids is a homotetramer.