Date Presented
Spring 5-4-2023
Document Type
Thesis
Department
Biology
First Advisor
Jamie Brooks, PhD
Second Advisor
David O. Freier, MA, PhD
Third Advisor
Price Blair, PhD
Abstract
Diabetes is one of the leading health threats to Western society. While several treatmentoptions and preventative measures exist for diabetes, physicians routinely recommend exercise to improve glucose metabolism in diabetics. However, many patients still struggle with both excessglucose production and inefficient glucose uptake, despite adherence to an exercise regimen.This phenomenon, known as exercise resistance, means that exercise is either ineffective orharmful for diabetics. While some diabetics may not respond well to exercise due tomitochondrial limitations, other factors, such as gut microbiome dysbiosis and lactic acidosis,could be contributors. Lactate-metabolizing gut bacteria, like Veillonella atypica, couldameliorate exercise’s negative effects in diabetics byimproving dysbiosis and lactic acidosis. V.atypica is traditionally classified as a strict anaerobe that could metabolize lactate into usableshort-chain fatty acids (SCFA) to improve diabetic exercise resistance symptoms. However,many characteristics of V. atypica have only been supported by genomic studies, so this project’sgoal was to begin to characterize the metabolic features of V. atypica in the laboratory. In thisstudy, fluid thioglycollate tests supported literature that V. atypica was an obligate anaerobe.Growth on Brain heart infusion (BHI) versus BHI plus lactate (BHIL) media showed that V.atypica could grow with or without lactate at 25°C and 37°C; however, V. atypica grew better inthe presence of lactate at 37°C. GC-MS analysis detected high quantities of potentially beneficial SCFAs, acetic and propionic acids, from metabolism of V. atypica, particularly inBHIL media. These data could contribute to the potential development of a well-tested, clinically-safe, V. atypica-based probiotic to amend exercise resistance in diabetics.
Recommended Citation
Kelly, Anne, "Understanding Veillonella atypica as a potential metabolic mediator in diabetic exercise" (2023). Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects. 284.
https://digitalshowcase.lynchburg.edu/utcp/284