Gastrointestinal tract ecology

Savage DC Microbial ecology of the gastrointestinal tract. Annu Rev Microbiol 1977 31 107-133. 

Hoskins, L.C. 1992. Mucin degradation in the human gastrointestinal tract and its significance to enteric microbial ecology. Eur. J. Gastroenterol. Hepatol. 5, 205-213. 

Bile acid metabolism in conventional animals is the activity of a balanced ecological system composed of the host, the associated intestinal microflora, and the diet. The host contributes the bile acids themselves and serves to maintain the homeostasis of the gastrointestinal tract. The intestinal microflora alters the molecular structure of the bile acids which it comes into contact with and also profoundly alters the physiological and, to a degree, the anatomical features of the host. The diet contributes the nutrition for both the host and the intestinal microflora and can cause marked changes in the flora s activity toward the bile acids in vivo (52). In addition, the amount of dietary sterols may cause the host to change its absorption and/or catabolism of cholesterol to bile acid and thus the rate of bile acid excretion (53). 

DENEV s, STAYKOV Y, MOUTAFCHIEVA R and BEEV G (2009) Microbial ecology of the gastrointestinal tract of fish and the potential apphcation of probiotics and pre-biotics in finfish aquaculture, IntAquat Res, 1,1-29. 

Jacobsen L, Wilcks A, Hammer K, et al. Horizontal transfer of te/(M) and erm(Q) resistance plasmids from food strains ot Lactobacillus plantarum to Enterococcus faecalis JH2-2 in the gastrointestinal tract of gnotobiotic rats. FEMS Microbiology Ecology. 2007 59 158-166. doi 10.1111/j.1574-6941.2006.00212.x. 

Mackie Rl, Sghir A, Gaskins HR. Developmental microbial ecology of the neonatal gastrointestinal tract. Am J Clin Nutr. 

Dietary Tannins on Microbial Ecology of the Gastrointestinal Tract in Ruminants... 

Keywords Tannins Miaobial ecology Gastrointestinal tract Metabolism Rumen fermentation Resistance mechanisms Ruminants... 

Zoetendal EG, Cheng B, Koike S et al (2004) Molecular microbial ecology of the gastrointestinal tract from phytogeny to function. Curr Issues Intest Microbiol 5 31 8... 

Walter, J. (2008). Ecological role of lactobacilli in the gastrointestinal tract implications for fundamental and biomedical research. Appl Environ Microbiol 74,4985-4996. 

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