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Microbiome

Selective bacterial BSH shifts host metabolism

Yao L, Seaton SC, Ndousse-Fetter S, et al. · eLife · 2018

Open access · cc by · source: Europe PMC

Bacteroides bile salt hydrolase BT2086 selectively deconjugates bile acids and alters host metabolism.

Study at a glance

Design
Animal / in-vitro — Bacteroidetes BSH selectivity screen plus B. thetaiotaomicron BT2086 deletion in gnotobiotic mice
N
~20 Bacteroidetes strains screened; monocolonization used 12 mice per Bt WT/KO group (8 GF controls) — no single primary N
Population
Human-gut Bacteroidetes strains and germ-free C57BL/6 mice
Outcome
Host metabolic phenotypes after selective bile-salt hydrolase loss

Structured fields used in claim comparison tables when every cited study has a complete layer.

Key findings

Among ~20 Bacteroidetes strains, some BSHs prefer steroid cores; BtΔ2086 loses deconjugation; colonization changes weight on high-fat diet vs WT.

Methodology

Screened Bacteroidetes BSH selectivity, deleted BT2086 in B. thetaiotaomicron, and colonized mice to read host metabolic phenotypes.

Limitations

Human intervention efficacy; one enzyme among many microbiome functions.

How this study connects

Role on claims

Each row is a claim on a concept or method page where this paper supports, challenges, or qualifies the statement. Roles are hand-checked — not a model guess.

  • QualifiesMicrobiomeconcept

    In middle-aged men, gut composition associates with metabolites and metabolic-syndrome traits.

    In middle-aged men, gut microbiota composition was associated with plasma metabolites and metabolic-syndrome–related traits, placing the microbiome alongside genetics and lifestyle as a correlated host factor.

    Scope note — mechanistic enzyme study — not a population metabolic association

    Limits the claim's scope: a different population, assay, or outcome.

  • SupportsMicrobiomeconcept

    Bacterial bile-salt enzymes can change host bile acids and weight-related phenotypes in models.

    Selective bacterial bile-salt hydrolases can change host bile-acid chemistry and weight-related phenotypes in colonization models—evidence that specific microbial enzymes, not only community membership lists, can matter for host physiology.

    Evidence for the claim as stated.

  • SupportsMicrobiomeconcept

    Human observational and MR studies do not automatically generalise to bee antibiotic/pesticide disruptions or to enzyme-focused colonization experiments. Animal and insect systems test different host–microbe questions; they limit how far a human association travels rather than falsifying it.

    Evidence for the claim as stated.

Open questions

Tensions this paper is part of

From concept pages' “where studies disagree.” Disagreement means the same question; scope means different assays, populations, or outcomes.

History

When this study was placed

Dated entries from the concept change log — when this paper was added or removed as support, challenge, or qualifier on a claim.

  1. 2026-09-14

    Placed as a scope qualifier on Microbiome

    In middle-aged men, gut microbiota composition was associated with plasma metabolites and metabolic-syndrome–related traits, placing the microbiome alongside genetics and lifestyle as a correlated host factor.

  2. 2026-09-14

    Placed as supporting evidence on Microbiome

    Human observational and MR studies do not automatically generalise to bee antibiotic/pesticide disruptions or to enzyme-focused colonization experiments. Animal and insect systems test different host–microbe questions; they limit how far a human association travels rather than falsifying it.

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Same topic cluster — not a recommendation engine.