A recent review of literature challenges the old theories of gut microbiome and host interaction and focuses on lipids, a class of biomolecules found in the bacterial membrane bilayer. The authors addressed the dramatic change in the amount and types of lipids consumed by humans in the past 50 to 100 years and its impact on the surge in inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, as the gut microbiome plays a crucial role in these diseases. The lipids synthesized by commensal gut microbes through de novo biosynthesis and breakdown of dietary lipids impact host health through recognition by the immune system and influence numerous metabolic pathways. Each lipid class confers unique structural features and functions to the bacterial membrane and some function as signaling molecules. Future efforts should focus on understanding lipid-microbe and host-microbe interactions and developing a catalog of lipid profiles for microbes that correlate with health and disease. The researchers emphasized considering the unique lipid fingerprints of gut microbes in future studies assessing human health and disease.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chom.2023.01.009