Effects of graphene oxide on zebrafish gut microbiota

The increasing exploitation of graphene-based materials necessitates a comprehensive evaluation of the potential impact on human health and the environment. Ingested graphene oxide (GO) can lead to a direct exposure of the gastrointestinal tract. In the gut, aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) controls intestinal epithelial cell regeneration and modulates gut immunity. In this project, we characterized the zebrafish gut microbiota by the bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequences following a 7-day exposure of GO with different AhR genotypes. This data was statistically analyzed to determine if GO exposure would shift the gut microbiome composition in zebrafish, and whether it is AhR-dependent.