Title: A symbiotic physical niche in the gut regulates assembly of a multispecies microbiome in Drosophila

Speaker: Dr. Will Ludington (Carnegie Institution for Science)

Host: Dr. Sook Chung

Abstract: The gut is continuously invaded by diverse environmental bacteria, yet microbiome composition remains relatively stable over time within an individual, suggesting host-specific factors may selectively maintain key species of bacteria. We used gnotobiotic Drosophila, microbial pulse-chase protocols, and microscopy to show that a host-constructed physical niche selectively binds bacteria with strain-level specificity, stabilizing their colonization. Primary colonizers saturate the niche and exclude secondary colonizers of the same strain, but initial colonization by Lactobacillus species physically remodels the niche through production of a glycan rich secretion to favor secondary colonization by unrelated commensals in the Acetobacter genus. Our results provide a mechanistic framework for understanding the establishment and stability of a multi-species intestinal microbiome.

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