Department of Chemical Biology
Yang's Lab,Department of Chemical Biology, Xiamen University
Professor Yang
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Professor
Department of Chemical Biology, Xiamen University
Contact Information
Yang's LaboratoryRoom 532, Lujiaxi Building, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China
Ph: +86 (0) 592-218 7601cyyang@xmu.edu.cn
Liyuan Lin's manuscript has been accepted by Angew Chemie
2020-04-04 06:29:00
Much progress has been made in advancing our understanding of gut microbiota. However, the lack of a method that can directly quantify the bacterial metabolic activities in the gut greatly impedes our investigation of the indigenous microbial activities. Here we propose a metabolic D-amino acid-based labeling and in situ hybridization facilitated (MeDabLISH) probing strategy for quantitative analysis of the indigenous metabolic status of gut bacteria. We first discover that the fluorescent D-amino acid (FDAA)-based labeling intensities of bacteria highly correlate with their temporal and steadystate metabolic status. Then, following taxonomically identifying bacterial genera in the mouse gut microbiota, which has been labeled by gavaged FDAA in vivo, by corresponding fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) probes, the metabolic activities of different gut bacterial genera are quantified by flow cytometry, using FISH signals to differentiate the corresponding genera and FDAA signals to indicate their basal metabolic levels. Based on this strategy, we find that Gram-negative genera in the mouse microbiota have stronger metabolic activities during the daytime, and Gram-positive genera have higher activities during the night. By offering direct and quantitative insights of the dynamic gut microbiota, our new strategy will be instrumental in deepening our understanding of the highly complex microbiota.
