Treatment with antibiotics has a lasting effect on the microbiome in the digestive system. While the bacterial flora is largely regenerated within 30 to 90 days after drug treatment, its interaction with resident fungi changes. In a combination of bioinformatic analyses and laboratory experiments, an international team of researchers has shown now that the peaceful coexistence of bacteria and fungi changes into a competitive situation when they are treated with antibiotics. This could subsequently favour fungal infections.

Original publication:

Seelbinder B, Chen J, Brunke S, Uribe RV, Meyer AC, de Oliveira Lino FS, Chan KF, Loos D, Imamovic L, Tsang CC, Lam RPK, Sridhar S, Kang K, Hube B, Woo PCY, Sommer MOA, Panagiotou G (2020) Antibiotics create a shift from mutualism to competition in human gut communities with a longer-lasting impact on fungi than bacteria. Microbiome 8, 133.

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