The Gut as an Environment

➙ Diverse and changing environment of the gut

➙ Initial colonisation and succession

➙ Most microbes live in the distal gut

➙ Movements by the bowel are important for bacterial self-seeding

➙ Oxygen levels influence microbiome composition

➙ The gut physiology is dynamic and heterogeneous

➙ Conclusion

Gut Microbe Symbiosis

➙ General principles of symbiotic relationships

➙ Symbiotic interactions

➙ Non-symbiotic relationships

➙ Triumvirate mutualism

➙ Conclusion: multiple factors determine a symbiotic relationship

Ecology of the Mucus Layer

➙ Secreted mucins and the mucus layer of the gut

➙ The mucins

➙ MUC-2 biosynthesis and secretion

➙ Endoplasmic reticulum

➙ Golgi apparatus

➙ Storage granules and secretion

➙ Table: MUC-2 oligosaccharides

➙ MUC2 and gut bacteria 

➙ K-Strategists versus r-Strategists in mucus metabolism

➙ Bacterial adhesion to mucin

➙ Mucus-binding proteins and other methods of binding

➙ Flagella and pili

➙ Blood group antigen adhesins