Diet Dominates Host Genotype in Shaping the Murine Gut Microbiota

Diet-induced manipulation of gut microbes holds therapeutic potential, but the reproducibility of effects across individuals remains unknown. Our new study (Carmody et al., Cell Host Microbe 2015) suggests that diet can reproducibly alter the gut microbiota despite differences in host genotype. Although most bacteria respond rapidly and consistently to repeated dietary shifts, some exhibit dependence on past diet.