Drug-microbiome-drug interactions in Parkinson's disease therapy

The aim of this project is to better understand the effects of COMT-I drugs on the gut microbiome, the effects of the gut microbiome on COMT-I antibiotic activity, and the downstream effects of these interactions on levodopa metabolism and host health. Project data includes 16S rRNA data from ex vivo human fecal community disruption by tolcapone and tolcapone M1, whole genom sequencing of isolates resulting from direct evolution in presence of tolcapone or DMSO. Species used include Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, Bacteroides fragilis, and Escherichia coli, and RNA sequencing of transcriptomic responses of both B. thetaiotaomicron and E. coli in response to COMT-I drugs.