Melius MicroBiomics Inc.

Congratulations Dr. Andrea Verdugo-Meza and Helen Chiang for their publication of the perspective article, “Not quite a cure yet: unlocking the unfulfilled promise of live biotherapeutics for disease treatment”. In this paper, we highlighted the shortcomings of probiotics and live biotherapeutic products (LBPs) when intestinal inflammation is involved. While probiotics and LBPs have the potential for health benefits, the inflamed intestine is a harsh environment for these beneficial microbes to thrive, therefore they must be tailored to tolerate such condition to exert their benefits. Our EcN:ttr (BioPersist^TM) was bio-engineered in our lab to thrive in the inflamed gut and dampen the inflammation.

Read the full article here!

Can glyphosate affect the health animals? The short answer is yes, but perhaps not in the way you have imagined. New research from our lab reveals that prenatal exposure to glyphosate—the active ingredient in the common herbicide Roundup—has a lasting impact. In our latest study, we found that the offspring of mice exposed to glyphosate showed significant changes in:

• Gut health including the microbiome
• Metabolism
• Behavioral patterns

While glyphosate has long been considered “safe” for animals, our findings suggest that the effects are most prominent not in those directly exposed, but in their children.

Congratulations to Dr. Jacqueline Barnett on the publication of this vital work!

Read the full study here.

Explore our newest publication from the Gibson Lab on how immigration to Canada affects the gut microbiome in Indian migrants.

Our study found that first- and second-generation Indian migrants exhibit a shift away from a traditional Indian microbiome toward a westernized microbiome. This shift was most pronounced in the second generation Indo-Canadians, and was also correlated with significant dietary changes, specifically, an increased consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPFs).

On average, 61% of calories consumed daily by Indo-Canadians were from UPFs, whereas UPFs made up only 12% of the daily caloric intake in Indians living in India. This dramatic change in dietary patterns highlights a major factor that may be influencing such a drastic transition in the gut microbiome in those who migrate to westernized countries.

To learn more, read the paper here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41522-025-00778-8.pdf

Check out our newest publication on the benefits of a Mediterranean diet in patients with ulcerative colitis!

Congrats on Dr. Haskey’s most recent publication on her UC Mediterranean Study! Her findings show that a Mediterranean diet can be recommended to patients with ulcerative colitis, as it can help to improve the gut microbiome while in remission.

Read the paper here: https://academic.oup.com/ecco-jcc/advance-article/doi/10.1093/ecco-jcc/jjad073/7140490 

Increasing representation of Non-European cohorts in microbiome research

A current project in the Gibson Lab is focusing on the microbiome in Indian populations. Unfortunately, non-European cohorts are very under-represented in gut microbiome research, which has led to a misconstrued understanding for what a healthy gut should like in under-represented groups. Check out this #FEMSmicroBlog where we discuss this issue in more detail!

#FEMSmicroBlog: A call to increase the representation of non-European cohorts in gut microbiome research