TY  - JOUR
AU  - Runge, Solveig
AU  - von Zedtwitz, Silvia
AU  - Maucher, Alexander M
AU  - Bruno, Philipp
AU  - Osbelt, Lisa
AU  - Zhao, Bei
AU  - Gernand, Anne M
AU  - Lesker, Till R
AU  - Gräwe, Katja
AU  - Rogg, Manuel
AU  - Schell, Christoph
AU  - Boerries, Melanie
AU  - Strowig, Till
AU  - Andrieux, Geoffroy
AU  - Hild, Benedikt
AU  - Rosshart, Stephan P
TI  - Laboratory mice engrafted with natural gut microbiota possess a wildling-like phenotype.
JO  - Nature Communications
VL  - 16
IS  - 1
SN  - 2041-1723
CY  - [London]
PB  - Springer Nature
M1  - DKFZ-2025-01209
SP  - 5301
PY  - 2025
AB  - Conventional laboratory mice housed under specific pathogen-free (SPF) conditions are the standard model in biomedical research. However, in recent years, many rodent-based studies have been deemed irreproducible, raising questions about the suitability of mice as model organisms. Emerging evidence indicates that variability in SPF microbiota plays a significant role in data inconsistencies across laboratories. Although efforts have been made to standardize microbiota, existing microbial consortia lack the complexity and resilience necessary to replicate interactions in free-living mammals. We present a robust, feasible and standardizable approach for transplanting natural gut microbiota from wildlings into laboratory mice. Following engraftment, these TXwildlings adopt a structural and functional wildling-like microbiota and host physiology toward a more mature immune system, with characteristics similar to those of adult humans. We anticipate that adopting wild mouse-derived microbiota as standard for laboratory mouse models will improve the reproducibility and generalizability of basic and preclinical biomedical research.
KW  - Animals
KW  - Gastrointestinal Microbiome: immunology
KW  - Gastrointestinal Microbiome: physiology
KW  - Mice
KW  - Phenotype
KW  - Specific Pathogen-Free Organisms
KW  - Mice, Inbred C57BL
KW  - Male
KW  - Female
KW  - Fecal Microbiota Transplantation: methods
KW  - Models, Animal
LB  - PUB:(DE-HGF)16
C6  - pmid:40506454
DO  - DOI:10.1038/s41467-025-60554-2
UR  - https://inrepo02.dkfz.de/record/302011
ER  -