During the experiments, it was estimated how effectively various bacteria living in the intestine consume amino acids, the building blocks of proteins. The team of scientists analyzed more than a hundred different intestinal microbes and identified the most effective in the metabolism of food organic substances, writes lenta.ru.

The researchers found that in one such bacterium there are more than 20 different genes encoding approximately the same enzymatic function. Experiments with genetically modified strains of bacteria have shown that intestinal microbes can alter the homeostasis of glucose in the blood of their hosts. They also affect the production of the neurotransmitter serotonin, which in turn affects glucose regulation.

Many of these metabolic functions can be performed by the liver, which produces specific enzymes, but now it has turned out that the intestinal microbiota performs the same or similar actions.

The team is currently developing new strategies for more precise modulation of bacterial enzymes and studying how different combinations of bacteria affect the metabolism of host amino acids.