Life Sciences Commons^™

Determining Pairwise Interactions To Predict Species Interactions In A Complex Community Of Gut Bacteria., Makenzie Maroney

Honors Theses

The human gastrointestinal (GI) tract houses a diverse and expansive microbial community known as the microbiota. The relationship between the host and the microbiota is considered to be mutualistic, as trillions of bacteria that reside in the hospitable GI tract can assist in essential host functions, including contributing to metabolism and immunity against disease. An important subpopulation of the GI microbiota is the mucin-associated biofilm that is comprised of a dense layer of bacteria that forms on the GI mucin layer. The mucin layer provides an alternative niche to the GI lumen; the glycans of the mucin and the subsequent …