Cystic fibrosis and microbiome

Researchers report that E. coli isolated from fecal samples of six young children with cystic fibrosis (CF) grew faster than E. coli isolated from two healthy controls when glycerol, a major component of dietary fat, was the only available carbon source, despite the strains from different CF patients being unrelated to each other; the finding suggests that the increased intestinal fat in CF patients might select for specific organisms within the microbiome.

Article #17-14373: "Adaptation of commensal proliferating Escherichia coli to the intestinal tract of young children with cystic fibrosis," by Susana Matamorous et al.

MEDIA CONTACT: Samuel I. Miller, University of Washington, Seattle, WA; tel: 206-616-5110, 206-915-5907; e-mail: <millersi@uw.edu>

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