Leveraging strain competition to address antimicrobial resistance with microbiota therapies

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-1-2025

Journal Title

Gut microbes

MeSH Headings

Humans; Gastrointestinal Microbiome (drug effects); Anti-Bacterial Agents (pharmacology); Bacteria (drug effects, genetics, growth & development); Fecal Microbiota Transplantation; Drug Resistance, Bacterial; Animals; Probiotics

Abstract

The enteric microbiota is an established reservoir for multidrug-resistant organisms that present urgent clinical and public health threats. Observational data and small interventional studies suggest that microbiome interventions, such as fecal microbiota products and characterized live biotherapeutic bacterial strains, could be an effective antibiotic-sparing prevention approach to address these threats. However, bacterial colonization is a complex ecological phenomenon that remains understudied in the context of the human gut. Antibiotic resistance is one among many adaptative strategies that impact long-term colonization. Here we review and synthesize evidence of how bacterial competition and differential fitness in the context of the gut present opportunities to improve mechanistic understanding of colonization resistance, therapeutic development, patient care, and ultimately public health.

First Page

2488046

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