Li Ying, Bai Ruijie, Zhu Yao, Shi Peng, Wang Tao, Zhou Dianshuang, Zhou Jianteng, Zhu Tao, Zhang Xinrong, Gu Rongrong, Ding Xiaoyue, Chen Hao, Wang Xiangming, Zhu Zuobin
Jiangsu Engineering Center for Precision Diagnosis and Treatment Research of Polygenic Diseases, Key Laboratory of Genetic Foundation and Clinical Application, Department of Genetics, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, China.
Medical Technology College, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, China.
Gut Microbes. 2025 Dec;17(1):2490828. doi: 10.1080/19490976.2025.2490828. Epub 2025 Apr 14.
Gut microbiota have been shown to influence the social behaviors of their hosts, while variations in host genetics can affect the composition of the microbiome. Nonetheless, the degree to which genetic variations in microbial populations impact host behavior, as well as any potential transgenerational effects, remains inadequately understood. Utilizing as a model organism, we identified 77 strains of from a total of 3,983 mutants that significantly enhanced aggregation behavior through various neurobehavioral pathways. This discovery underscores a collaborative regulatory mechanism between microbial genetics and host behavior. Notably, we observed that some mutant bacteria might affect social behavior via the mitochondrial pathway. Additionally, the modulation of social behavior has been identified as a heritable trait in offspring. Our results provide a novel perspective on the regulatory role of microbial genetic variation in host behavior, which may have significant implications for human studies and the development of genetically engineered probiotics aimed at enhancing well-being across generations.
肠道微生物群已被证明会影响宿主的社会行为，而宿主基因的变异会影响微生物组的组成。尽管如此，微生物种群的基因变异对宿主行为的影响程度以及任何潜在的跨代效应仍未得到充分了解。我们以 作为模式生物，从总共3983个突变体中鉴定出77株 ，这些突变体通过各种神经行为途径显著增强了聚集行为。这一发现强调了微生物遗传学与宿主行为之间的协同调节机制。值得注意的是，我们观察到一些突变细菌可能通过线粒体途径影响社会行为。此外，社会行为的调节已被确定为后代的一种可遗传特征。我们的结果为微生物基因变异在宿主行为中的调节作用提供了新的视角，这可能对人类研究以及旨在促进跨代福祉的基因工程益生菌的开发具有重要意义。
