13/11/2025
Serotonin producing human microbiota identified!
Serotonin is best known as a neurotransmitter in the brain, but over 90 percent of the body's serotonin is produced in the gut, where it controls bowel movements via the enteric nervous system, sometimes called the "gut-brain".
Previous research has shown that the bacteria in the gut, the gut microbiota, affects how much serotonin is produced by the host, but until now it has been unclear whether gut bacteria themselves can form biologically active serotonin.
In the current study, published in the journal Cell Reports, the researchers have identified two bacteria that together can produce serotonin: Limosilactobacillus mucosae and Ligilactobacillus ruminis.
When the bacteria were introduced into germ-free mice with serotonin deficiency, the levels of serotonin in the gut increased, as did the density of nerve cells in the colon. The bacteria also normalized the intestinal transit time.
“It is incredibly fascinating how the gut bacteria can produce bioactive signaling molecules that affect health”, says one of the leading authors of the study.
The researchers were also able to see that people with IBS had lower levels of one of the bacteria (L. mucosae) in their stool compared to healthy individuals, and that this bacterium also has the enzyme required for serotonin production.
https://sciencemission.com/Serotonin-producing-human-microbiota-identified