Dietary fiber monosaccharide content alters gut microbiome composition and fermentation.

The survival of a microbial species in the gut depends on the availability of the nutrients necessary for that species to survive. Carbohydrates in the form of non-host digestible fiber are of particular importance, and the set of genes possessed by each species for carbohydrate consumption can vary considerably. Here, differences in the monosaccharides that are the building blocks of fiber are considered for their impact on both the survival of different species of microbes and on the levels of microbial fermentation products produced. This work demonstrates that foods with similar monosaccharide content will have consistent effects on the survival of microbial species and on the production of microbial fermentation products.