Teaming with microbes: lessons from the zebrafish intestine

Animals have evolved in a microbial world and must coexist with dense, multispecies microbial communities. We use gnotobiotic zebrafish to understand the molecular exchanges that maintain homeostasis between resident bacteria and their hosts. We have identified several secreted bacterial proteins that impact animal development and tissue homeostasis. Our biochemical and cell biological analyses of these proteins reveal that their primary functions are in bacterial competition within the host environment. Our findings that these bacterial proteins have additional impacts on host cell biology reveal how animal developmental programs have incorporated adaptations to microbial cues that shape developmental trajectories and physiologies.

Selected publications:

-Smith, T Jarrod et al. “A mucin-regulated adhesin determines the spatial organization and inflammatory character of a bacterial symbiont in the vertebrate gut.” Cell host & microbe (2023) 

-Hill, Jennifer Hampton et al. “BefA, a microbiota-secreted membrane disrupter, disseminates to the pancreas and increases β cell mass.” Cell metabolism (2022)

-Robinson, Catherine D et al. “Host-emitted amino acid cues regulate bacterial chemokinesis to enhance colonization.” Cell host & microbe (2021)

-Troll, Joshua V et al. “Microbiota promote secretory cell determination in the intestinal epithelium by modulating host Notch signaling.” Development (2018)

-Hill, Jennifer Hampton et al. “A conserved bacterial protein induces pancreatic beta cell expansion during zebrafish development.” eLife  (2016)