Chronic restraint stress affects the diurnal rhythms of gut microbial composition and metabolism in a mouse model of depression.

Background: Depression is a common mental disorder accompanied by gut microbiota dysbiosis, which disturbs the metabolism of the host. While diurnal oscillation of the intestinal microbiota is involved in regulating host metabolism, the characteristics of the intestinal microbial circadian rhythm in depression remain unknown. Our aim was to investigate the microbial circadian oscillation signature and related metabolic pathways in a mouse model with depression-like behaviours.