ArticleNature2016
The evolution of cooperation within the gut microbiota.
Article in Nature, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06638606 (Microbiota Profiles in Newly Married Couples), which is not on this map. Cited by 300 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
Microbiota Profiles in Newly Married Couples: Potential Effects on Vision, Sleep and Psychometric Parameters
Who cites it
300 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Association between physical activity and changes in intestinal microbiota composition: A systematic review.PloS one · 2021Pooled it
- Gut Microbiome Changes Associated With HIV Infection and Sexual Orientation.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2020Pooled it
- Oral compound probiotic supplements can improve the quality of life for patients with lung cancer during chemotherapy: A randomized placebo-controlled study.Thoracic cancer · 2024Trial
- The protease code of the bacterial gut microbiota: ecological regulation, barrier disruption, and rewiring host defense and signaling.Gut microbes · 2026Review
- The phenotypic landscape of the model firmicuteProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Synergy between Enterobacteriaceae and diet mediates competition between dominant Bacteroidales in the human gut.Nature microbiology · 2026Article
- Decoding microbial metabolic complementarity from individual traits to community structuring.Ecology · 2026Article
- Quartet: Disentangling positive and negative components of microbial interactions.PLoS computational biology · 2026Article
- From diet to function: using synthetic microbial communities to map gut microbial interactions.NPJ biofilms and microbiomes · 2026Review
- Advanced Targeted Curcumin Delivery Using Spatiotemporally Controlled Nanohybrid Polysaccharide-Based Hydrogel for Ulcerative Colitis Therapy.Gels (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- The island biology of the host microbiome.Trends in microbiology · 2026Review
- Research advances in the identification of gut keystone bacteria and formulation of suitable dietary intervention strategies for restoring gut homeostasis.NPJ biofilms and microbiomes · 2026Review
- Plant-based enteral nutrition outperforms ultra-processed formulas in mitigating consequences of antibiotic-induced dysbiosis.JCI insight · 2026Article
- Dual membrane-spanning anti-sigma 2 controls OMV biogenesis and colonization fitness inJournal of bacteriology · 2026Article
- Metabiosis underlies a microbiota permissive to Pseudomonadota and increases the risk of gut-borne bloodstream infection.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Genomic perspectives on the global dissemination of Elizabethkingia anophelis: unveiling inherent multidrug resistance and virulence determinants.BMC microbiology · 2026Article
- A modified targeted culturing approach provided a snapshot into interdependencies and resistome among core anaerobic bacteria of the healthy human gut.Microbiology spectrum · 2026Article
- Article
- Fructan utilization by members of marine Gammaproteobacteria involves SusC/D-like proteins.The ISME journal · 2026Article
- Rumen microbiota inoculation indicates collaborative mechanisms enhancing propionate supply to alleviate weaning stress in lambs.Microbiome · 2026Article
240 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
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Cooperative phenotypes are considered central to the functioning of microbial communities in many contexts, including communication via quorum sensing, biofilm formation, antibiotic resistance, and pathogenesis. The human intestine houses a dense and diverse microbial community critical to health, yet we know little about cooperation within this important ecosystem. Here we test experimentally for evolved cooperation within the Bacteroidales, the dominant Gram-negative bacteria of the human intestine. We show that during growth on certain dietary polysaccharides, the model member Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron exhibits only limited cooperation. Although this organism digests these polysaccharides extracellularly, mutants lacking this ability are outcompeted. In contrast, we discovered a dedicated cross-feeding enzyme system in the prominent gut symbiont Bacteroides ovatus, which digests polysaccharide at a cost to itself but at a benefit to another species. Using in vitro systems and gnotobiotic mouse colonization models, we find that extracellular digestion of inulin increases the fitness of B. ovatus owing to reciprocal benefits when it feeds other gut species such as Bacteroides vulgatus. This is a rare example of naturally-evolved cooperation between microbial species. Our study reveals both the complexity and importance of cooperative phenotypes within the mammalian intestinal microbiota.
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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.