Synergy between Enterobacteriaceae and diet mediates competition between dominant Bacteroidales in the human gut.

Enterobacteriaceae synergize with dietary polysaccharides to promote Prevotellaceae dominance over Bacteroidaceae in the human gut, especially in non-industrialized populations.

• Why it matters: Understanding the factors that determine gut microbiota composition is crucial for health, as diet alone does not fully explain the dominance of different bacterial families across populations.
• What they did: The study screened 94 dietary components in synthetic gut communities and used metatranscriptomics, metabolomics, and isolates to investigate interactions between Enterobacteriaceae, Prevotellaceae, and dietary polysaccharides.
• The result: Findings show that Enterobacteriaceae enhance Prevotellaceae, particularly Segatella copri, in the presence of specific polysaccharides, linking microbial interactions to microbiome composition and lifestyle differences.