Knowledge of the intestinal microbiota has transformed medical science, but not the treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). The microbiota is difficult to use clinically because current analytical methods provide outputs that are too complex to provide useful data during an acute IBD flare. To solve these issues, we have developed a novel methodology, ‘MicFly’ that allows us to ‘count’ each type of bacteria present in the microbiota. Our method provides rapid, accurate, quantitative and simple measurements of the bacteria present in the microbiota and has the added benefit of being capable of identifying what genes are being expressed by each bacteria.
Clostridiodes difficile infection (Cdiff;CDI) is common in IBD patients because the pre-conditions for CDI, low microbiome diversity and immunosuppression, are common outcomes of treatment. Discriminating CDI from an IBD flare can be difficult because Cdiff is commonly found in IBD patients but is only dangerous when it expresses a toxin. As an example of the efficacy of MicFly, we propose to demonstrate that the technique can identify the number of Cdiff bacteria and their toxin expression. We will also measure whether a Fecal Microbiota Transplant for Cdiff has been successful in reducing Cdiff toxin levels and restoring microbiota diversity.
