The rhizosphere encompasses the millimeters of soil surrounding a plant root where complex biological and ecological processes occur. This review describes recent advances in elucidating the role of root exudates in interactions between plant roots and other plants, microbes, and nematodes present in the rhizosphere. Evidence indicating that root exudates may take part in the signaling events that initiate the execution of these interactions is also presented. Various positive and negative plant-plant and plant-microbe interactions are highlighted and described from the molecular to the ecosystem scale. Furthermore, methodologies to address these interactions under laboratory conditions are presented.

SUMMARY Interactions between the microbiota and distal gut are fundamental determinants of human health. Such interactions are concentrated at the colonic mucosa and provide energy for the host epithelium through the production of the short-chain fatty acid butyrate. We sought to determine the role of epithelial butyrate metabolism in establishing the austere oxygenation profile of the distal gut. Bacteria-derived butyrate affects epithelial O2 consumption and results in stabilization of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF), a transcription factor coordinating barrier protection. Antibiotic-mediated depletion of the microbiota reduces colonic butyrate and HIF expression, both of which are restored by butyrate supplementation. Additionally, germ-free mice exhibit diminished retention of O2-sensitive dyes and decreased stabilized HIF. Furthermore, the effects of butyrate are lost in cells lacking HIF, thus linking butyrate metabolism to stabilized HIF and barrier function. This work highlights a mechanism where host-microbe interactions augment barrier function in the distal gut.

In this study we used stool profiling to identify intestinal bacteria and metabolites that are differentially represented in humans with colorectal cancer (CRC) compared to healthy controls to identify how microbial functions may influence CRC development. Stool samples were collected from healthy adults (n = 10) and colorectal cancer patients (n = 11) prior to colon resection surgery at the University of Colorado Health-Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, CO. The V4 region of the 16s rRNA gene was pyrosequenced and both short chain fatty acids and global stool metabolites were extracted and analyzed utilizing Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). There were no significant differences in the overall microbial community structure associated with the disease state, but several bacterial genera, particularly butyrate-producing species, were under-represented in the CRC samples, while a mucin-degrading species, Akkermansia muciniphila, was about 4-fold higher in CRC (p<0.01). Proportionately higher amounts of butyrate were seen in stool of healthy individuals while relative concentrations of acetate were higher in stools of CRC patients. GC-MS profiling revealed higher concentrations of amino acids in stool samples from CRC patients and higher poly and monounsaturated fatty acids and ursodeoxycholic acid, a conjugated bile acid in stool samples from healthy adults (p<0.01). Correlative analysis between the combined datasets revealed some potential relationships between stool metabolites and certain bacterial species. These associations could provide insight into microbial functions occurring in a cancer environment and will help direct future mechanistic studies. Using integrated “omics” approaches may prove a useful tool in identifying functional groups of gastrointestinal bacteria and their associated metabolites as novel therapeutic and chemopreventive targets.

Diet affects multiple facets of human health and is inextricably linked to chronic metabolic conditions such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Dietary nutrients are essential not only for human health but also for the health and survival of the trillions of microbes that reside within the human intestines. Diet is a key component of the relationship between humans and their microbial residents; gut microbes use ingested nutrients for fundamental biological processes, and the metabolic outputs of those processes may have important impacts on human physiology. Studies in humans and animal models are beginning to unravel the underpinnings of this relationship, and increasing evidence suggests that it may underlie some of the broader effects of diet on human health and disease.

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The important role of the gut microbiome in maintaining human health has necessitated a better understanding of the temporal dynamics of intestinal microbial communities as well as the host and environmental factors driving these dynamics. Genetics, mode of birth, infant feeding patterns, antibiotic usage, sanitary living conditions and long term dietary habits contribute to shaping the composition of the gut microbiome. This review focuses primarily on diet, as it is one of the most pivotal factors in the development of the human gut microbiome from infancy to the elderly. The infant gut microbiota is characterized by a high degree of instability, only reaching a state similar to that of adults by 2–3 years of age; consistent with the establishment of a varied solid food diet. The diet-related factors influencing the development of the infant gut microbiome include whether the child is breast or formula-fed as well as how and when solid foods are introduced. In contrast to the infant gut, the adult gut microbiome is resilient to large shifts in community structure. Several studies have shown that dietary changes induce transient fluctuations in the adult microbiome, sometimes in as little as 24 h; however, the microbial community rapidly returns to its stable state. Current knowledge of how long-term dietary habits shape the gut microbiome is limited by the lack of long-term feeding studies coupled with temporal gut microbiota characterization. However, long-term weight loss studies have been shown to alter the ratio of the Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes, the two major bacterial phyla residing in the human gastrointestinal tract. With aging, diet-related factors such as malnutrition are associated with microbiome shifts, although the cause and effect relationship between these factors has not been established. Increased pharmaceutical usage is also more prevalent in the elderly and can contribute to reduced gut microbiota stability and diversity. Foods containing prebiotic oligosaccharide components that nurture beneficial commensals in the gut community and probiotic supplements are being explored as interventions to manipulate the gut microbiome, potentially improving health status.

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