An Archetypical Model for Engrafting Bacteroides fragilis into Conventional Mice Following Reproducible Antibiotic Conditioning of the Gut Microbiota.

is a commonly investigated commensal bacterium for its protective role in host diseases. Here, we aimed to develop a reproducible antibiotic-based model for conditioning the gut microbiota and engrafting into a conventional murine host. Initially, we selected different combinations of antibiotics, including metronidazole, imipenem, and clindamycin, and investigated their efficacy in depleting the mouse population. We performed 16S rRNA sequencing of DNA isolated from fecal samples at different time points. The α-diversity was similar in mice treated with metronidazole (MET) and differed only at weeks 1 ( = 0.001) and 3 ( = 0.009) during metronidazole/imipenem (MI) treatment. compositions, during the MET and MI exposures, were similar to the pre-antibiotic exposure states. Clindamycin supplementation added to MET or MI regimens eliminated the population. We next repeated metronidazole/clindamycin (MC) treatment in two additional independent experiments, followed by a transplant. MC consistently and reproducibly eliminated the population. The depleted did not recover in a convalescence period of six weeks post-MC treatment. Finally, was enriched for ten days following engraftment into -depleted mice. Our model has potential use in gut microbiota studies that selectively investigate role in diseases of interest.