The gut microbiota is the microbial community that occupies the gastrointestinal tract. It is responsible for producing enzymes, metabolites, and other molecules crucial for host metabolism and in response to the environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Consequently, a balanced gut microbiota is important for mammalian health in many ways, such as helping to regulate the immune and endocrine systems. This in turn, impacts the physiology of tissues throughout the body. However, little was known about the impact of the gut microbiota on host reproduction, and whether an altered microbiota in a father could influence the fitness of his offspring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Hackett group at EMBL Rome, in collaboration with the Bork and the Zimmermann groups at EMBL Heidelberg, set out to answer this question, with their results now published in the journal Nature<\/em>. The scientists showed that disrupting the gut microbiota in male mice increases the probability that their offspring are born with low weight, and are more likely to die prematurely. These findings are illustrated in the animation below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n