The human gut is the host of a rampant microscopic orgy. To survive, the microbes in our digestive tract are having 'sex' with each other on a regular basis, all in the name of swapping secrets on how to survive deadly doses of antibiotics.
The study was conducted among a phylum of gut microbes, called Bacteroidetes, which comprise up to 80 percent of the human microbiome and are important digesters.
Most microbes in the gut don't have the ability to synthesize these crucial compounds on their own, which means they have to soak up what they can from their environment. When two gut microbes were placed on a dish in the lab, researchers noticed the bacterium that couldn't synthesize B12 transport systems connected up with the bacterium that could. Once the sex pilus bridged the gap between the two, the 'receiving' bacterium could unpack its precious cargo.
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