Multiplatform Physiologic and Metabolic Phenotyping Reveals Microbial Toxicity.

The gut microbiota is susceptible to modulation by environmental stimuli and therefore can serve as a biological sensor. Recent evidence suggests that xenobiotics can disrupt the interaction between the microbiota and host. Here, we describe an approach that combines microbial incubation (isolated cecal contents from mice), flow cytometry, and mass spectrometry- and H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based metabolomics to evaluate xenobiotic-induced microbial toxicity.