Project Grant R01DK139214

This federal Project Grant award, titled "The Genomics and Consequences of Gut Bacterial Adaptation to High-Fat Diets," is funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) under the Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research program (CFDA 93.847). The $1,363,668 award will support research conducted by The Trustees of Princeton University to investigate how gut bacteria adapt to high-fat diets and the subsequent impacts on host metabolic health. The 4-year project aims to: 1) identify genomic changes in gut bacteria under high-fat diets using evolve and re-sequence experiments, 2) quantify the effects of diet-induced plasmid transmission and proliferation, 3) measure the fitness advantages conferred by diet-adapted gut bacteria through microbiota competition experiments in germ-free mice, and 4) assess the impacts of diet-adapted gut bacteria on host gene expression, immune responses, and metabolic traits like adiposity. The findings are expected to elucidate the adaptive landscape experienced by gut microbiomes under high-fat dietary conditions and their consequences for host health.