ABOVE: Colored scanning electron micrograph of segmented filamentous bacteria (green) attached to the mouse intestinal wall at 6 AM (left) and 6 PM (right).
JOHN BROOKS
Microbes in a mouse’s gut synchronize the animal’s immune responses to its daily activity patterns, according to a study published yesterday (July 28) in Cell. Certain intestinal bacteria that are sensitive to the timing of mouse feeding drive rhythmic signaling in the innate immune system, researchers found, such that immune activity peaks when the mouse is most likely to come into contact with pathogens: when it’s eating and running about.
The findings identify the microbiota as an important link between an animal’s circadian clock and its immune system, says Christoph Thaiss, a microbiologist at the University of Pennsylvania who was not involved in the work.
“In a way, this was a long-awaited finding,” he says. While researchers knew that circadian rhythms in feeding could affect ...
