Gut microbiome, dietary lipids and metabolic diseases

The gut microbiota is known to play an important role in regulating host metabolism. There is indeed an accumulating body of data that demonstrates the causative role of gut microbes in disease development. Bioactive molecules contributing to enhancing or preventing metabolic disorders have been identified and may help tracking persons at risks to develop disease or help setting up innovative intervention strategies. However, there is still a gap of knowledge between this great potential and the massive amount of purely descriptive data on the impact of high-calorie diets on changes affecting the microbiome in experimental models. In the present article, I highlight seminal studies showing that dietary composition has a major impact on host phenotypes and the gut microbial ecosystem in diet-induced obese mice. I also briefly comment on some critical aspects of performing research in the field. (C) 2019 Societe francaise de nutrition. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.