There has been an explosion of research into the gut microbiota, driven by new technology (next generation sequencing) and by the realization that the gut microbiota has profound effects on the health of the animal or human host. The topic is so hot that 9 Nature or Science papers in 2011 alone reported new effects of the gut microbiota on our health, with 17 Nature or Science papers on the gut microbiota generally in 2011. With this rapidly increasing awareness of their importance, animal experiments where the gut microbiota is manipulated are likely to rise substantially, making efforts to reduce or replace animal experiments urgent.
We have been awarded funding by the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement, and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) to develop the computer simulation tool eGUT, to model the molecular interactions in the microbiota, validating observed results for a particular application against observed behaviours. This project started in January 2013. Initially this will only reduce animal experiments. In the longer term, the model will have been validated and accepted for a range of applications, so the ultimate aim is to fully replace animal experiments in studies similar to previously validated applications.
Continue to "The Project" for More Information and Full Project Poster
We are offering early collaborators their say in the development of the eGUT Tool. In return we will offer training on applying eGUT in future microbiota research. For more information and to contribute, contact Jan Kreft (j.kreft@bham.ac.uk)