Breathless in the Gut: Implications of Luminal O2 for Microbial Pathogenicity

Salmonella employs a variety of strategies to survive and colonize the colon. In this issue of Cell Host & Microbe, Rivera-Chávez et al. (2016) identify a new mechanism whereby antibiotic-mediated depletion of anaerobes (e.g., Clostridia) and associated decreases in butyrate result in increased tissue oxygen and increased aerobic expansion of Salmonella. Salmonella employs a variety of strategies to survive and colonize the colon. In this issue of Cell Host & Microbe, Rivera-Chávez et al. identify a new mechanism whereby antibiotic-mediated depletion of anaerobes (e.g., Clostridia) and associated decreases in butyrate result in increased tissue oxygen and increased aerobic expansion of Salmonella.