Rationally-defined microbial consortia suppress multidrug-resistant proinflammatory Enterobacteriaceae via ecological control

Persistent colonization and outgrowth of pathogenic organisms in the intestine may occur due to long-term antibiotic usage or inflammatory conditions, which perpetuate dysregulated immunity and tissue damage(1,2). Gram-negative Enterobacteriaceae gut pathobionts are particularly recalcitrant to conventional antibiotic treatment(3,4), though an emerging body of evidence suggests that manipulation of the commensal microbiota may be a practical alternative therapeutic strategy(5–7). In this study, we rationally isolated and down-selected commensal bacterial consortia from healthy human stool samples capable of strongly and specifically suppressing intestinal Enterobacteriaceae. One of the elaborated consortia, consisting of 18 commensal strains, effectively controlled ecological niches by regulating gluconate availability, thereby reestablishing colonization resistance and alleviating antibiotic-resistant Klebsiella-driven intestinal inflammation in mice. Harnessing these microbial activities in the form of live bacterial therapeutics may represent a promising solution to combat the growing threat of proinflammatory, antimicrobial-resistant bacterial infection.