Optimizing bacteriophage treatment of resistant .

Phage therapy is increasing in relevance as an alternative treatment to combat antibiotic resistant bacteria. Phage cocktails are the state-of-the-art method of administering phages in clinical settings, preferred over monophage treatment because of their ability to eliminate multiple bacterial strains and reduce resistance formation. In our study, we compare monophage applications and phage cocktails to our chosen method of phage sequential treatments.

Satiety controls behavior in Hydra through an interplay of pre-enteric and central nervous system-like neuron populations.

Hunger and satiety can have an influence on decision-making, sensory processing, and motor behavior by altering the internal state of the brain. This process necessitates the integration of peripheral sensory stimuli into the central nervous system. Here, we show how animals without a central nervous system such as the cnidarian Hydra measure and integrate satiety into neuronal circuits and which specific neuronal populations are involved.

Multiple neuronal populations control the eating behavior in Hydra and are responsive to microbial signals.

Although recent studies indicate the impact of microbes on the central nervous systems and behavior, it remains unclear how the relationship between the functionality of the nervous system, behavior, and the microbiota evolved. In this work, we analyzed the eating behavior of Hydra, a host that has a simple nervous system and a low-complexity microbiota. To identify the neuronal subpopulations involved, we used a subpopulation-specific cell ablation system and calcium imaging.

Spontaneous body wall contractions stabilize the fluid microenvironment that shapes host-microbe associations.

The freshwater polyp is a popular biological model system; however, we still do not understand one of its most salient behaviors, the generation of spontaneous body wall contractions. Here, by applying experimental fluid dynamics analysis and mathematical modeling, we provide functional evidence that spontaneous contractions of body walls enhance the transport of chemical compounds from and to the tissue surface where symbiotic bacteria reside. Experimentally, a reduction in the frequency of spontaneous body wall contractions is associated with a changed composition of the colonizing microbiota.

Exploring Effects of Protective Natural Microbiota on Host Physiology.

The natural microbiota was described only recently. Thus, our understanding of its effects on nematode physiology is still in its infancy. We previously showed that the natural microbiota isolates MYb11 and MYb115 protect the worm against pathogens such as (Bt).

Prototypical pacemaker neurons interact with the resident microbiota.

Pacemaker neurons exert control over neuronal circuit function by their intrinsic ability to generate rhythmic bursts of action potential. Recent work has identified rhythmic gut contractions in human, mice, and hydra to be dependent on both neurons and the resident microbiota. However, little is known about the evolutionary origin of these neurons and their interaction with microbes.