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Abstract
To understand how different diets, the consumers' gut microbiota, and the enteric
nervous system (ENS) interact to regulate gut motility, we developed a gnotobiotic
mouse model that mimics short-term dietary changes that happen when humans are traveling
to places with different culinary traditions. Studying animals transplanted with the
microbiota from humans representing diverse culinary traditions and fed a sequence
of diets representing those of all donors, we found that correlations between bacterial
species abundances and transit times are diet dependent. However, the levels of unconjugated
bile acids-generated by bacterial bile salt hydrolases (BSH)-correlated with faster
transit, including during consumption of a Bangladeshi diet. Mice harboring a consortium
of sequenced cultured bacterial strains from the Bangladeshi donor's microbiota and
fed a Bangladeshi diet revealed that the commonly used cholekinetic spice, turmeric,
affects gut motility through a mechanism that reflects bacterial BSH activity and
Ret signaling in the ENS. These results demonstrate how a single food ingredient interacts
with a functional microbiota trait to regulate host physiology.