A Computational Method to Dissect Colonization Resistance of the Gut Microbiota against Pathogens

The indigenous gut microbes have co-evolved with their hosts for millions of years. Those gut microbes play a crucial role in host health and disease. In particular, they protect the host against incursion by exogenous and often harmful microorganisms, a mechanism known as colonization resistance (CR). Yet, identifying the exact microbes responsible for the gut microbiota-mediated CR against a particular pathogen remains a fundamental challenge in microbiome research. Here, we develop a computational method --- Generalized Microbe-Phenotype Triangulation (GMPT) to systematically identify causal microbes that directly influence the microbiota-mediated CR against a pathogen. We systematically validate GMPT using a classical population dynamics model in community ecology, and then apply it to microbiome data from two mouse studies on C. difficile infection. The developed method will not only significantly advance our understanding of CR mechanisms but also pave the way for the rational design of microbiome-based therapies for preventing and treating enteric infections.