Mohamed S. Donia

Community Curation of Microbial Metabolites Enables Biological Insights of Metabolomics Data

The paper introduces a collaborative platform for curating microbial metabolite knowledge to enhance metabolomics data interpretation.

Many circulating indole and phenol metabolites are host derived

The paper shows that mammalian cells produce certain indole and phenol metabolites, while bacterial metabolism is required for others, highlighting host contributions to circulating pools.

When is microbial cross-feeding evolutionarily stable?

The paper investigates why waste-product cross-feeding persists in microbial communities by developing a mathematical model showing that intracellular metabolite toxicity can make cross-feeding evolutionarily stable.

Marsupial immune protection is shaped by enhancer sharing and gene cluster duplication of cathelicidin antimicrobial peptides

The paper investigates how marsupial neonates use cathelicidin antimicrobial peptides for immune protection through genomic clustering and enhancer sharing, showing their effectiveness in a sepsis model.

A nutrient bottleneck limits antibiotic efficacy in structured bacterial populations

This study shows that nutrient availability limits antibiotic efficacy in structured bacterial populations by creating a traveling death front, which can be overcome or exacerbated by nutrient supply changes.

Gut bacterial nutrient preferences quantified in vivo

The paper quantifies nutrient preferences of gut bacteria in mice using isotope tracing and finds dietary fiber, protein, and host-derived metabolites drive microbial growth.