Rodent Gut Bacteria Coexisting with an Insect Gut Virus in Tapeworm Parasitic Cysts: Metagenomic Evidence of Microbial Selection in Extra-Intestinal Clinical Niches.

In medicine, parasitic cysts (e.g., brain cysticerci) are believed to be sterile, and are primarily treated with antiparasitic medications, not antibiotics, which could prevent abscess formation and localized inflammation.

Rodent Gut Bacteria Coexisting with an Insect Gut Virus in Parasitic Cysts: Metagenomic Evidence of Microbial Translocation and Co-adaptation in Spatially-Confined Niches.

In medicine, parasitic cysts or cysticerci (fluid-filled cysts, larval stage of tapeworms) are believed to be sterile (no bacteria), and therein, the treatment of cysticerci infestations of deep extra-intestinal tissues (, brain) relies almost exclusively on the use of antiparasitic medications, and rarely antibiotics. To date, however, it is unclear why common post-treatment complications include abscessation. This study quantified the microbial composition of parasitic cyst contents in a higher-order rodent host, using multi-kingdom shotgun metagenomics, to improve our understanding of gut microbial translocation and adaptation strategies in wild environments.