The Colorectal Cancer Microbiota Alter Their Transcriptome To Adapt to the Acidity, Reactive Oxygen Species, and Metabolite Availability of Gut Microenvironments

The human gut microbiota has the genetic potential to drive colorectal cancer onset and progression; however, the expression of this genetic potential during the disease has not been investigated. We found that microbial expression of genes that detoxify DNA-damaging reactive oxygen species, which drive colorectal cancer, is compromised in cancer.