Fig. 1
From: Current understanding of the gut microbiota shaping mechanisms
The micro-environment in the gut lumen determines the gut microbiota composition. a Transmission electron microscope image of mouse colon displays the spatial relation of microbes and gut epithelium. G, goblet cells; E, epithelial cells; B, Bacteria; TJ, tight junction; Mu, mucus; Mv, microvilli; and Mt, mitochondria. Scale bar = 0.5 μm. b The gut micro-environment possess a variety of stimulators originated from the digested food, host and other microbes. The sum of all these stimulators provides the selection force to shape the gut microbiota. Meanwhile, different responses from diverse microbes to the stimulations also affect the microbiota composition