Nature Communications - Here, the authors show that Bilophila wadsworthia uses bacterial microcompartments and anaerobic respiration of host-derived compounds to thrive in the inflamed gut,...

Sulfate- and sulfite-reducing bacteria (SRB) are a group of strict anaerobes found within the human gut. Bilophila wadsworthia, a sulfite-reducing bacterium which produces hydrogen sulfide (H2S) fr...

Nature Communications - Here, the authors show that Bilophila wadsworthia uses bacterial microcompartments and anaerobic respiration of host-derived compounds to thrive in the inflamed gut,...

Bilophila wadsworthia, a common gut microbe, can adapt to high-fat diets which may contribute to gut and liver disease

Listen and watch Episode 21 of Science Soundbites where Dr Muhammad Yasir, Researcher, speaks to Dr Lizbeth Sayavedra, Group Leader, about the bacteria Bilophila wadsworthia. Read more about the…

Welcome to Microbe of the Month! This month, meet Bilophila wadsworthia 🦠 Marnie, Ellis and Harriet from Dr Lizbeth Sayavedra’s group here at the Quadram Institute take you through why this…

Human health is greatly influenced by the gut microbiota and microbiota imbalance can lead to the development of diseases. It is widely acknowledged that the interaction of bacteria within competitive ecosystems is influenced by their specialized metabolites, which act, e.g., as antibacterials or siderophores. However, our understanding of the occurrence and impact of such natural products in the human gut microbiome remains very limited. As arylthiazole siderophores are an emerging family of growth-promoting molecules in pathogenic bacteria, we analyzed a metagenomic data set from the human microbiome and thereby identified the bil-BGC, which originates from an uncultured Bilophila strain. Through gene synthesis and BGC assembly, heterologous expression and mutasynthetic experiments, we discovered the arylthiazole natural products bilothiazoles A–F. While established activities of related molecules indicate their involvement in metal-binding and -uptake, which could promote the growth of pathogenic strains, we also found antibiotic activity for some bilothiazoles. This is supported by biosensor-experiments, where bilothiazoles C and E show PrecA-suppressing activity, while bilothiazole F induces PblaZ, a biosensor characteristic for β-lactam antibiotics. These findings serve as a starting point for investigating the role of bilothiazoles in the pathogenicity of Bilophila species in the gut.

Using 21,561 individuals, the authors present a cross-sectional study of how gut microbiome signatures are associated with dietary intake patterns and with host health outcomes.

PhD The Role of Bilophila wadsworthia in Microbiome-Driven Metabolic Dysfunction: Impact of Obesity-Associated Microbiomes (NARBAD_Q25MMB) 2025/26 | UEA

Bilophila wadsworthia, a common gut microbe, can adapt to high-fat diets which may contribute to gut and liver disease

Bilophila wadsworthia, a common gut microbe, can adapt to high-fat diets which may contribute to gut and liver disease

We had the opportunity to speak to Sara, PhD student at ITQB NOVA in Portugal. She is working on developing a gut-on-chip model to study the factors that dri...

PhD The Role of Bilophila wadsworthia in Microbiome-Driven Metabolic Dysfunction: Impact of Obesity-Associated Microbiomes (NARBAD_Q25MMB) 2025/26 | UEA