Galacto‐Oligosaccharide Supplementation Modulates Pathogen‐Commensal Competition between Streptococcus agalactiae and Streptococcus salivarius

• Published in: Chembiochem : a European journal of chemical biology 2022-02, Vol.23 (3), p.e202100559-n/a
• Main Authors: Moore, Rebecca E., Thomas, Harrison C., Manning, Shannon D., Gaddy, Jennifer A., Townsend, Steven D.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acid production; Breast milk; Commensals; Dietary Supplements; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Humans; Lactic acid; Lactic Acid - biosynthesis; Lactic Acid - chemistry; Microbiomes; Milk, Human - chemistry; Nutrition; Oligosaccharides; Oligosaccharides - administration & dosage; Oligosaccharides - metabolism; Pathogens; Prebiotics; Prebiotics - administration & dosage; Streptococcus agalactiae; Streptococcus agalactiae - metabolism; Streptococcus infections; Streptococcus salivarius; Streptococcus salivarius - metabolism
• ISSN: 1439-4227; 1439-7633
• DOI: 10.1002/cbic.202100559

The members of the infant microbiome are governed by feeding method (breastmilk vs. formula). Regardless of the source of nutrition, a competitive growth advantage can be provided to commensals through prebiotics – either human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) or plant oligosaccharides that are supplemented into formula. To characterize how prebiotics modulate commensal – pathogen interactions, we have designed and studied a minimal microbiome where a pathogen, Streptococcus agalactiae engages with a commensal, Streptococcus salivarius. We discovered that while S. agalactiae suppresses the growth of S. salivarius via increased lactic acid production, galacto‐oligosaccharides (GOS) supplementation reverses the effect. This result has major implications in characterizing how single species survive in the gut, what niche they occupy, and how they engage with other community members. The study of the infant microbiome and how the microbiota is affected by feeding choice has recently gained interest. We designed a two‐species microbiome in which a pathogen, Streptococcus agalactiae, is cultured with a commensal, Streptococcus salivarius. We discovered that the common infant formula supplement, galacto‐oligosaccharides are able to reverse the effects of S. salivarius growth suppression by S. agalactiae.