Friday, December 3, 2021

The field of toxicology has long suggested that host microbiota could influence the disposition and toxicity of environmental chemicals. Early correlative studies of heavy metal exposure identified the microbiota as contributing to host toxicity. However, technological limitations necessary for cataloging the microbiota community structure and for characterizing their metabolic capabilities have hitherto hindered progress in this area. Technological advances including sequence-based identification and functional characterization via mass spectrometry-based metabolite profiling have begun to shed light on how microbes influence and/or impact toxicity outcomes. Data will be presented to highlight key aspects of gut microbiota-host interaction and how environmental chemicals (dioxins, furans, polychlorinated biphenyls) can impact this important connection.