Lantibiotic-producing bacteria impact microbiome resilience and colonization resistance

A subset of commensal bacterial strains secrete bacteriocins, such as lantibiotics, to establish and protect their niche in the gut. Because the antimicrobial spectrum of lantibiotics includes opportunistic pathogens, such as vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VRE), they may provide an approach to reduce antibiotic-resistant infections. The impact of lantibiotic-producing bacteria on the complex microbial populations constituting the microbiome, however, remains poorly defined. We find that genes encoding lanthipeptides, including lantibiotics, are commonly present in the microbiomes of healthy humans and in dysbiotic microbiomes of hospitalized patients. In fecal samples collected from hospitalized patients, bacterial species encoding lantibiotic genes are present in greater abundance than lantibiotic-deficient strains of the same species. We demonstrate that the lantibiotic-producing bacterium, Blautia pseudococcoides SCSK, prevents intestinal recolonization of mice by a wide range of commensal species following antibiotic-induced dysbiosis and markedly reduces fecal concentrations of microbiota-derived metabolites associated with mucosal immune defenses. Lantibiotic-mediated dysbiosis results in sustained loss of colonization resistance against Klebsiella pneumoniae and Clostrioides difficile infection. Our findings reveal the potential impact of lantibiotic-producing bacterial species on microbiome resilience and susceptibility to infection following antibiotic treatment.