Food & farming. One Health

Understanding marsupial gut microbiomes advances our knowledge of host-microbiome evolution, helps explain adaptations to challenging diets like eucalyptus, and supports conservation efforts for threatened species through improved health management, says Kate Bowerman, a microbiologist at the University of Queensland (UQ) and co-author of the study. In collaboration with scientists from Denmark and the US, the team collected and analysed faecal samples from 82 captive marsupials living in wildlife sanctuaries, and 16 wild marsupials in forested areas around Queensland. However, even between the two specialist eucalypt feeders, koalas and greater gliders, each species showed distinct adaptation to this challenging diet with microbiomes that reflected the digestion of the different eucalypt type each prefers to eat. The next steps will be to isolate and characterise the key species found in marsupial microbiomes in order to study their functional roles, for example, in how they contribute to eucalyptus digestion or host health.

The global probiotic yeast market is gaining steady momentum as food, nutrition, and healthcare industries increasingly recognize the role of yeast-based probiotics in supporting digestive health, immune function, and disease prevention. Competitive Landscape and Market Outlook The probiotic yeast market features a mix of global food, nutrition, and biotechnology companies actively investing in strain development, product innovation, and geographic expansion. With strong growth prospects across dietary supplements, human nutrition, and Asia Pacific markets, probiotic yeast is set to play a pivotal role in the future of global health and nutrition industries. Saccharomyces boulardii and Saccharomyces cerevisiae are the most widely used yeast strains in probiotic products due to their stability, long shelf life, and proven benefits for digestive and immune health.

The research, conducted by scientists at the University of Cambridge and published in Nature Microbiology, examined how widespread synthetic chemicals affect the gut microbiome, which plays a crucial role in digestion, immune defence, metabolism and overall health. Indra Roux, Ph.D., of the University of Cambridge's MRC Toxicology Unit and the study's first author, said the findings were unexpected. Researchers warn this suggests environmental pollution may be indirectly contributing to the global antibiotic resistance crisis by training" bacteria to survive drug exposure even in the absence of antibiotics. "The real power of this large-scale study is that we now have the data to predict the effects of new chemicals, with the aim of moving to a future where new chemicals are safe by design," said Kiran Patil, Ph.D., the study's senior author."