Probiotics and Microbiota-Derived Molecules and Extracellular Vesicles

Dear Colleagues,

In all stages of development, from neonates to old age, the relationship between the microbiome and health in higher organisms has been broadly demonstrated. Autochthonous and probiotic bacteria have been unequivocally related to a healthy status by exerting effects first on digestive tract function, but also on the maturation of the immune system, metabolic and inflammatory disease, general mucosal homeostasis, and the neuroendocrine system, among others. Communication channels between bacteria and host underlying such interactions are based on chemical reactions, enzymatic activities, and molecular interactions that will be studied in this Special Issue on “Probiotic and Microbiota-Derived Molecules and Extracellular Vesicles”. Gut bacteria have access to all food components and they interact, modify or use them as nutrients. Compounds such as vitamins, aminoacids, and short chain fatty acids are a product of the metabolism of gut bacteria, and all of them are first-order requirements of the host organism, beyond nutrition. In addition, a number of recently disclosed bacterial molecules and structures mediate the specific modes of interaction of microorganisms with the host, among them bacterial proteins, peptidoglycan components, and metabolites, which bind host cells and stimulate specific signaling pathways. Gut- and mucosae-associated bacteria produce enzymes with interesting activities on the host cell surfaces that cleave or modify structural and signaling molecules, but they also have very efficient electron transport mechanisms that enable them to survive in unfriendly environments and play an outstanding role in the redox control of the gut microenvironment. The mechanisms of binding and interaction with the host have been widely studied in pathogens; therefore, research aspects of pathogen interaction with the host will be of great value as biochemical interaction models.

Finally, bacterial extracellular vesicles carrying cytoplasmic components as active cargoes have been attributed a communication role between the host and intestinal bacteria, both in Gram negatives and Firmicutes.

The discovery of microbial molecules and structures that mediate the communication channels between bacteria and the host, and the study of their mechanisms of action, have fundamental relevance from an academic standpoint and, evidently, great potential for the understanding of the health/disease transition and drug development. Thus, the scope of this Special Issue will be groundbreaking but also conceptually broad, including research articles and reviews dealing with academic and applied research on the chemistry and biochemistry of probiotics and microbiota-derived compounds and structures, their genetics, and their corresponding molecular biology implications. This will facilitate our understanding of bacterial dwelling in mucosal-associated niches and interaction with the host.

Dr. Gaspar Pérez-Martínez
Guest Editor

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• Metabolism
• Short chain fatty acids
• Vitamins and cofactors
• Enzymes
• Non-digestible fiber
• Signaling
• Binding structures
• Synthesis of polymers
• Enzymes
• Extracellular vesicles
• Chemical environment
• Redox pathways
• Antimicrobial compounds
• Antimicrobial resistance