Washington University in St. Louis (WU)
Moderate-to-severe acute malnutrition is a global health emergency with nearly half of deaths in children under age five being associated with undernutrition. Previous studies demonstrated that stunted development of the gut microbiota is a key feature of malnutrition in children, and restoring the gut microbiota through the use of microbiota-directed complementary foods (MDCF) increases the rate at which children recover from malnutrition. The microbial factors that promote recovery from malnutrition are currently unknown. However, recent studies have shown that treatment with MDCFs alters the fecal concentrations of select N-acyl amides (NAAs). NAAs are potent signaling molecules that are produced and modified by prominent gut microbial taxa of interest. We are interested in identifying and characterizing the microbial enzymes responsible for NAA production and degradation in the gut and determining their importance in both healthy and diseased states.