In vitro transcriptional profiling of Bacteroides fragilis in glucose and human milk oligosaccharides

The factors that govern the retention and abundance of specific microbial lineages within a developing intestinal microbiota remain poorly defined. Human milk oligosaccharides consumed by nursing infnats pass undigested to the distal gut where they may be consumed by microbes. We investigated the transcriptional response of Bacterides fragilis, a prominent gut resident, to the presence of HMOs. In vitro transcriptional profiles of Bacteroides fragilis obtained from biological duplicate cultures taken at middle log phase in minimal media glucose (MM-Glu) and in minimal media with human milk oligosaccharides (MM-HMO).