Poster #019, City of Hope
Identification of Indole-3-Acetic Acid (IAA)-Producing Bacterial Strains in Intestinal mTOR Knockout Mice
Mentors: Eryun Zhang, PhD, Hannah Ceballos, MS, PI: Wendong Huang PhD
Previous studies found that the gut microbiota profile of intestinal epithelium-specific mTOR knockout (mTOR-IKO) mice was significantly altered. Furthermore, fecal microbiota transplantation from mTOR-IKO mice enhanced glucose homeostasis in wild-type (WT) mice, indicating that intestinal mTOR affects energy metabolism through modulation of the gut microbiota. Gut bacteria produce metabolites that can affect energy metabolism and overall health, including indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), a metabolite derived from tryptophan. The objective of this study is to screen Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron (BT), Lactobacillus reuteri (LR), Lactobacillus johnsonii (LJ), and Lactobacillus murinus (LM) bacterial strains for their ability to produce IAA using a Salkowski assay to detect IAA production. The goal is to identify IAA-producing bacterial strains and improve understanding of microbial metabolism. Identifying IAA-producing bacterial strains can determine how changes in the gut microbiota increase IAA production and metabolic benefits, supporting future treatments for obesity and other metabolic disorders.