Gene Transfer in the Gastrointestinal Tract

The maximum in vivo transfer rate of plasmid pAMβ1 in the gut was 0.03 transconjugant per recipient cell, and this rate could be simulated in vitro only by forced filter mating. Transfer was not detected in liquid culture matings. Our findings demonstrate that in vitro methods, such as forced filter mating and liquid mating, underestimate the in vivo rates of gene transfer.     

Bacterial Community Mapping of the Mouse Gastrointestinal Tract

Keeping mammalian gastrointestinal (GI) tract communities in balance is crucial for host health maintenance. However, our understanding of microbial communities in the GI tract is still very limited. In this study, samples taken from the GI tracts of C57BL/6 mice were subjected to 16S rRNA gene sequence-based analysis to examine the characteristic bacterial communities along the mouse GI tract, including those present in the stomach, duodenum, jejunum, ileum, cecum, colon and feces. Further analyses of the 283,234 valid sequences obtained from pyrosequencing revealed that the gastric, duodenal, large intestinal and fecal samples had higher phylogenetic diversity than the jejunum and ileum samples did. The microbial communities found in the small intestine and stomach were different from those seen in the large intestine and fecal samples. A greater proportion of Lactobacillaceae were found in the stomach and small intestine, while a larger proportion of anaerobes such as Bacteroidaceae, Prevotellaceae, Rikenellaceae, Lachnospiraceae, and Ruminococcaceae were found in the large intestine and feces. In addition, inter-mouse variations of microbiota were observed between the large intestinal and fecal samples, which were much smaller than those between the gastric and small intestinal samples. As far as we can ascertain, ours is the first study to systematically characterize bacterial communities from the GI tracts of C57BL/6 mice.     

Physiological Adaptations in the Gastrointestinal Tract of Crayfish

SYNOPSIS. Crayfish are the dominant macrocrustacean in manyaquatic ecosystems and are the largest crustacean aquaculturalindustry in the United States, yet we know relatively littleabout their preferred and nutritionally important foods, aswell as their ability to utilize those foods. This review focuseson the ability of crayfish to detect foods, reduce food particlesize, digest macronutrients and the control of those functions.Of particular interest are the enzymatic capabilities of crayfish,especially trypsin, an alkaline protease, cellulase, muramidase,and possibly chitinase and chitobiase. The coordinated neuralcontrol of crayfish food location, ingestion and movement hasbeen well documented, while hormonal control mechanisms havenot. The conclusion we must draw from our current state of knowledgeis that crayfish have ample abilities to taste and locate potentialfoods and enzymatic adaptations developed in crayfish that allowuse of many of the foods they encounter in a benthic aquaticenvironment; other adaptations are lacking or have not beenelucidated.     

Bacillus subtilis Spores Germinate in the Chicken Gastrointestinal Tract

A number of poultry probiotics contain bacterial spores. In this study, orally administered spores of Bacillus subtilis germinated in the gastrointestinal (GI) tracts of chicks. Furthermore, 20 h after spores were administered, vegetative cells outnumbered spores throughout the GI tract. This demonstrates that spore-based probiotics may function in this host through metabolically active mechanisms.     

消化道氮能神经的研究进展

人体消化道的神经构成复杂、功能多样,向来是学术界的研究热点之一。与其相关的新观点、新概念、新物质的报道层出不穷。20世纪末期,基于对一氧化氮(NO)生物学作用广泛而深入地研究,人们发现并明确了NO是一种新型神经递质。由于此类以NO为递质的神经具有重要的生物学效应,学术界提出了氮能神经的概念从而为我们深入了解非肾上腺素能非胆碱能神经开辟了全新的视角,同时也彰显出氮能神经在生物体中潜在的重大作用。本文将针氮能神经在胃、肠道、食管等主要消化道器官的分布情况、对消化道正常生理功能调控、以及与相关消化道疾病病理联系等方面展开综述,并设想了氮能神经可能基于一氧化氮合酶的各种异构体的相关性而在消化道正常、疾病两态之间的平衡机制中存在某种作用和联系。     

Highly Variable Microbiota Development in the Chicken Gastrointestinal Tract

Studies investigating the role that complex microbiotas associated with animals and humans play in health and wellbeing have been greatly facilitated by advances in DNA sequencing technology. Due to the still relatively high sequencing costs and the expense of establishing and running animal trials and collecting clinical samples, most of the studies reported in the literature are limited to a single trial and relatively small numbers of samples. Results from different laboratories, investigating similar trials and samples, have often produced quite different pictures of microbiota composition. This study investigated batch to batch variations in chicken cecal microbiota across three similar trials, represented by individually analysed samples from 207 birds. Very different microbiota profiles were found across the three flocks. The flocks also differed in the efficiency of nutrient use as indicated by feed conversion ratios. In addition, large variations in the microbiota of birds within a single trial were noted. It is postulated that the large variability in microbiota composition is due, at least in part, to the lack of colonisation of the chicks by maternally derived bacteria. The high hygiene levels maintained in modern commercial hatcheries, although effective in reducing the burden of specific diseases, may have the undesirable effect of causing highly variable bacterial colonization of the gut. Studies in humans and other animals have previously demonstrated large variations in microbiota composition when comparing individuals from different populations and from different environments but this study shows that even under carefully controlled conditions large variations in microbiota composition still occur.     

Bacterial Association in the Gastrointestinal Tract of Beagle Dogs

Nine male beagle dogs, housed in either a conventional or locked environment for 2.5 years, were killed, and the bacterial flora present in various regions of each gastrointestinal tract was assessed by culture techniques, light microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. All dogs possessed a complex microflora in their colons; in almost every dog anaerobes predominated. The highest number of bacteria cultured was 10¹⁰/g (dry weight) of tissue and contents; highest counts obtained with a Petroff-Hauser counting chamber were 10¹⁰/ml (wet weight). Although there was a consistency in the detectable genera, there were also noticeable differences in the flora of dogs housed under different environmental conditions. These differences included qualitative and quantitative changes in the flora as well as alterations in the distribution and localization of microorganisms along the gastrointestinal tract and in the crypts of Lieberkuhn. No bacterial layers were detected on the surfaces of stomach or proximal bowel in any of the dogs. Dogs housed in a conventional, open, environment had bacteria that occurred in layers on their ceca and colons and in their crypts of Lieberkuhn; however, dogs housed under “locked” environmental conditions did not possess them or had them less frequently. Dogs removed from the locked environment and kept (30 days) in conventional housing conditions were the only ones with detectable segmented filamentous microbes in their ilea. This study shows that the microbial flora does not simplify when dogs are housed in a locked environment. Indeed, it may increase in complexity and cause alterations in the bacterial flora that is associated closely with gastrointestinal epithelial cells and crypts of Lieberkuhn.     

Pulmonary Aspiration after Fibre-endoscopy of the Upper Gastrointestinal Tract

Pulmonary aspiration occurred in 16 out of 65 patients (24·6%) undergoing fibre-endoscopic examinations of the upper gastrointestinal tract under intravenous sedation, but it was rarely followed by serious complications. Aspiration was found to occur under sedation with diazepam alone, diazepam with atropine, and with chlormethiazole. The most important factors contributing to aspiration are the local pharyngeal anaesthesia and the mechanical interference of the fibrescope with laryngeal closure and swallowing. The patient is also at risk of aspiration after completion of the procedure and should remain recumbent until the local anaesthesia has worn off.     

Caffeic Acid Metabolism by Bacteria of the Human Gastrointestinal Tract

The metabolism of caffeic acid, previously shown to be carried out by the intestinal microbiota of man and experimental animals, has now been examined in a number of bacteria isolated from human feces. It has been found that of the 12 organisms isolated none has the ability to catalyze more than one reaction of the series leading from caffeic acid to either m-hydroxyphenylpropionic acid or 4-ethylcatechol.     

Fate of the Two-Component Lantibiotic Lacticin 3147 in the Gastrointestinal Tract

The component peptides of lacticin 3147 were degraded by α-chymotrypsin in vitro with a resultant loss of antimicrobial activity. Activity was also lost in ileum digesta. Following oral ingestion, neither of the lacticin 3147 peptides was detected in the gastric, jejunum, or ileum digesta of pigs, and no lacticin 3147 activity was found in the feces. These observations suggest that lacticin 3147 ingestion is unlikely to have adverse effects, since it is probably inactivated during intestinal transit.     

青霉素促使烫伤SPF大鼠肠道细菌易位的研究

本文描述了在控制微生物实验动物实验室中,口服青霉素的SPF大鼠(n=10),25％Ⅲ°烫伤后出现的肠道细菌易位。该组大鼠盲肠和结肠中的乳酸杆菌数量显著下降(约1,000倍),而肠杆菌数量明显上升(约100倍以上),其MLN中的细菌易位发生率为9/10,肝、脾、肾、肺和血流的发生率为1/10。口服青霉素组大鼠(n=5)的MLN细菌易位发生率为2/5,其它器官细菌培养阴性。空白组(n=6)和烫伤组(n=6)大鼠均未出现肠道细菌易位。这些结果说明:抗生素促使了烫伤SpF大鼠肠道细菌的易位。据病理形态学的观察,讨论了肠道细菌易位发生的机理和易位的途径。     

白鹮胃肠道内分泌细胞的免疫组织化学定位

为了解白的消化生理过程 ,利用ABC免疫组织化学方法 ,对白胃肠道 5种内分泌细胞 :5 -羟色胺 (5 HT)、脑啡肽、P物质、胃动素和抑胃素的分布进行了研究。结果表明 :5 HT细胞主要分布于十二指肠及其以下部位 ,尤其是盲肠和直肠 ;而腺胃、肌胃和幽门中均未发现该类细胞。脑啡肽和P物质细胞数量明显较 5 HT少 ,它们稀疏分布于十二指肠及其以下部位 ,无显著的分布积聚区。抑胃素和胃动素在整个胃肠道中均无分布。分析表明白胃肠道 5种内分泌细胞的分布与其他鸟类相似 ,但与其他脊椎动物明显不同。