ArticlePLoS genetics2011
The evolution of host specialization in the vertebrate gut symbiont Lactobacillus reuteri.
Article in PLoS genetics, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 173 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
173 citing papers in PubMed.
- Eggerthella lenta: metabolism, pathogenesis and therapeutic implications.Nature reviews. Microbiology · 2026Review
- Revised complete genome sequences ofMicrobiology spectrum · 2026Article
- Genomic and Phenotypic Characterization of Avian-DerivedAnimals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Article
- Beyond distance-decay: The Mississippi River shapes gut microbiome communities in thebioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Respiratory microbiota dynamics in piglets under nanotechnology-based and conventional vaccination protocols against Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae.BMC veterinary research · 2026Article
- Proposal ofInternational journal of systematic and evolutionary microbiology · 2026Article
- Gempipe: a tool for drafting, curating, and analyzing pan and multi-strain genome-scale metabolic models.mSystems · 2026Article
- Genome-wide association analysis reveals specialization to hosts and niches in multiple species of the Lactobacillaceae.The ISME journal · 2026Article
- Compatibility of toothpastes with probiotics for periodontal health: anFrontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2026Article
- Fructooligosaccharides-driven metabolism of a definedFrontiers in microbiology · 2026Article
- Genome characterization and comparative genomics ofFrontiers in microbiology · 2026Article
- Manganese-engineered Lactobacillus Reuteri with enhanced antitumor and immunomodulatory activities for colorectal cancer prevention and treatment.Nature communications · 2025Article
- A structural basis for the strain-dependent UDP-sugar specificity of glycosyltransferase C from the Limosilactobacillus reuteri accessory secretion system.Acta crystallographica. Section D, Structural biology · 2025Article
- Microbial regulators of physiological and reproductive health in women of reproductive age: their local, proximal and distal regulatory roles.NPJ biofilms and microbiomes · 2025Review
- Gut microbiota links to cognitive impairment in bipolar disorder via modulating synaptic plasticity.BMC medicine · 2025Article
- Article
- Evolutionary adaptation of probiotics in the gut: selection pressures, optimization strategies, and regulatory challenges.NPJ biofilms and microbiomes · 2025Review
- Dietary Qiwenghuangbo powder-enriched Limosilactobacillus reuteri protects the intestinal epithelium and alleviates inflammation via a strain-specific mechanism.Animal models and experimental medicine · 2025Article
- aurora: a machine learning gwas tool for analyzing microbial habitat adaptation.Genome biology · 2025Article
- Genomic diversity and functional adaptation ofFrontiers in microbiology · 2025Article
113 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
21 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Recent research has provided mechanistic insight into the important contributions of the gut microbiota to vertebrate biology, but questions remain about the evolutionary processes that have shaped this symbiosis. In the present study, we showed in experiments with gnotobiotic mice that the evolution of Lactobacillus reuteri with rodents resulted in the emergence of host specialization. To identify genomic events marking adaptations to the murine host, we compared the genome of the rodent isolate L. reuteri 100-23 with that of the human isolate L. reuteri F275, and we identified hundreds of genes that were specific to each strain. In order to differentiate true host-specific genome content from strain-level differences, comparative genome hybridizations were performed to query 57 L. reuteri strains originating from six different vertebrate hosts in combination with genome sequence comparisons of nine strains encompassing five phylogenetic lineages of the species. This approach revealed that rodent strains, although showing a high degree of genomic plasticity, possessed a specific genome inventory that was rare or absent in strains from other vertebrate hosts. The distinct genome content of L. reuteri lineages reflected the niche characteristics in the gastrointestinal tracts of their respective hosts, and inactivation of seven out of eight representative rodent-specific genes in L. reuteri 100-23 resulted in impaired ecological performance in the gut of mice. The comparative genomic analyses suggested fundamentally different trends of genome evolution in rodent and human L. reuteri populations, with the former possessing a large and adaptable pan-genome while the latter being subjected to a process of reductive evolution. In conclusion, this study provided experimental evidence and a molecular basis for the evolution of host specificity in a vertebrate gut symbiont, and it identified genomic events that have shaped this process.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.