Targeting the microbiota to address diet-induced obesity: a time dependent challenge

Links between the gut microbiota and host metabolism have provided new perspectives on obesity. We previously showed that the link between the microbiota and fat deposition is age- and time-dependent subject to microbial adaptation to diet over time. We also demonstrated metabolic improvement in diet-induced obese (DIO) mice by manipulation of the gut microbiota with vancomycin or with the bacteriocin-producing probiotic (Bac+). However, two phases of weight gain were observed with effects most marked early in the intervention phase. Here, we compare the gut microbial populations at the early relative to the late stages of intervention using a high throughput sequencing-based analysis to understand the temporal relationship between the gut microbiota and obesity. This reveals several differences in microbiota composition over the intervening period.