Is eating behavior manipulated by the gastrointestinal microbiota? Evolutionary pressures and potential mechanisms

Microbes in the gastrointestinal tract are under selective pressure to manipulate host eating behavior to increase their fitness, sometimes at the expense of host fitness. Microbes may do this through two potential strategies: (i) generating cravings for foods that they specialize on or foods that s...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:BioEssays Vol. 36; no. 10; pp. 940 - 949
Main Authors: Alcock, Joe, Maley, Carlo C., Aktipis, C. Athena
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: United States Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.10.2014
Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
WILEY Periodicals, Inc
Subjects:
Animals
Antibiotics
Biological Evolution
cravings
Eating behavior
evolutionary conflict
Feeding Behavior
Food
Gastrointestinal tract
Gastrointestinal Tract - microbiology
host manipulation
Humans
microbiome
Microbiota
Models, Biological
Nutrition education
obesity
Obesity - etiology
Prospects & Overviews
Toxins
microbiota
evolutionary conflict
cravings
microbiome
obesity
host manipulation
ISSN:0265-9247, 1521-1878, 1521-1878
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Microbes in the gastrointestinal tract are under selective pressure to manipulate host eating behavior to increase their fitness, sometimes at the expense of host fitness. Microbes may do this through two potential strategies: (i) generating cravings for foods that they specialize on or foods that suppress their competitors, or (ii) inducing dysphoria until we eat foods that enhance their fitness. We review several potential mechanisms for microbial control over eating behavior including microbial influence on reward and satiety pathways, production of toxins that alter mood, changes to receptors including taste receptors, and hijacking of the vagus nerve, the neural axis between the gut and the brain. We also review the evidence for alternative explanations for cravings and unhealthy eating behavior. Because microbiota are easily manipulatable by prebiotics, probiotics, antibiotics, fecal transplants, and dietary changes, altering our microbiota offers a tractable approach to otherwise intractable problems of obesity and unhealthy eating. Nutrient competition affects all biological communities, including the human microbiota. Selection favors microbes that can influence their nutrient supply, potentially leading to microbial manipulation of human feeding behavior. Manipulation may involve neurochemical rewards, toxins, vagus nerve modulation, and manipulation of taste receptors, leading to cravings and unhealthy eating behavior.
Bibliography:ArticleID:BIES201400071
NIH - No. F32 CA132450; No. P01 CA91955; No. R01 CA149566; No. R01 CA170595; No. R01 CA140657
American Cancer Society, the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation - No. 117209-RSG-09-163-01-CNE
Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin
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ISSN:0265-9247
1521-1878
1521-1878
DOI:10.1002/bies.201400071