Sweet soft drinks not only feed your cravings, but may also rewire your gut.
Technology – A new study by the Israel Institute of Technology shows that white sugar in soft drinks can flip genetic switches in gut bacteria, thereby changing its immune-regulating behavior. The study was published in Natural Communicationsrevealing how a bacterial species bacterial thetaiotaomicronaltering its DNA orientation to sugars – changing to shorten the intestinal markers, intestinal wall integrity and T cell activity.
Sugar consumption triggers DNA flip in gut microorganisms
In human, mouse and laboratory cultures, researchers observed how sugars affect B. Thetaiotaomicronordinary intestinal intestinal intestinal intestinal intestinal intestinal intestinal intestinal intestinal intestinal intestinal intestinal intestinal intestinal intestinal intestinal intestinal intestinal intestinal intestinal intestinal intestinal intestinal intestinal intestinal intestinal intestinal intestinal intestinal intestinal intestinal Key mechanism? Reversible DNA inversion – Genome flip that controls gene expression. A site called PVR2 continuously responds to sugar intake by switching to the reverse direction, resulting in changes in bacterial surface protein and immune interactions.
In mice settled with this bacteria, sugar water causes:
- The reverse direction of the PVR2 gene region increased by 7 days
- Reduced expression of IL-6 and ZO-1, marking of intestinal barrier integrity
- Changes in the proportion of CD8+ memory T cells in immune tissues
When sugar is removed, genetically directed and immune markers return to baseline – demonstrating that their effects are reversible.
Diet sugar reprogramming intestinal immune communication
“Eating soft drinks containing white sugar changes the DNA of gut bacteria and affects the host immune system,” the author wrote. “Good news? These effects are reversible.”
In subsequent experiments, B. Thetaiotaomicron Grow on 190 different carbon sources, including common sugars such as fructose, glucose and sucrose. Conditioned medium from sugar-fed bacteria alters the way mouse immune cells respond in vitro. Some sugar sources enhance anti-inflammatory IL-10, while others increase pro-inflammatory IL-17 or T-cell activation markers.
Interestingly, many of these effects are not due to the well-known short-chain fatty acids, but to the specific proteins secreted by bacteria. Boiling the medium weakens the immune effect and points to the heat-sensitive molecule, which may be surface proteins regulated by phase change genes.
Protein fingerprints link diet to bacterial behavior
A key insight in proteomics: sugar-fed bacteria secrete different outer membrane proteins, especially SUSC and SUSD amyloid binding proteins. Many are associated with phase transition regions in the genome. “These findings suggest that altered proteins are secreted into the media, mediating immune effects,” the authors wrote.
Why it matters
This study highlights the fine-tuning plasticity of gut microorganisms and their ability to adapt and influence us, based on our diet. It also opens the door to personalized nutrition strategies designed to regulate the microbiome for immune health. As the authors concluded, “By studying the effects of specific dietary ingredients on the immune regulatory function of major members of the gut microbiota, tailor-made dietary advice can be provided to human subjects based on their microbiome composition.”
Magazine: Natural Communications
doi: 10.1038/S41467-025-44938-1
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