Peer-reviewedCC BY-NC-NDNature
Sugar-rich foods exacerbate antibiotic-induced microbiome disruption
24 affiliations
- 1Adult Bone Marrow Transplantation Service, Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
- 2Department of Microbiology, NYU Langone Health Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- 3Institute for Systems Genetics, NYU Langone Health Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- 4Department of Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation, City of Hope National Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- 5Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
- 6Departments of Genomic Medicine and Stem Cell Transplantation Cellular Therapy, Division of Cancer Medicine, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
- 7Human Oncology & Pathogenesis Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
- 8Department of Pediatrics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
- 9Haematology Unit, Department of Cellular Therapy, Hematology and Laboratory Medicine, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Senese, Siena, Italy
- 10Food and Nutrition Services, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
- 11Department of Biomedical Engineering, NYU Tandon School of Engineering, New York, NY, USA
- 12Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
- 13Riddet Institute, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
- 14Biotechnology Institute, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN, USA
- 15Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
- 16Division of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
- 17Translational Science and Therapeutics Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA, USA
- 18Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA
- 19City of Hope, Duarte, CA, USA. [email protected]
- 20Department of Microbiology, NYU Langone Health Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA. [email protected]
- 21Institute for Systems Genetics, NYU Langone Health Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA. [email protected]
- 22Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY, USA. [email protected]
- 23Adult Bone Marrow Transplantation Service, Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA. [email protected]
- 24Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA. [email protected]
Abstract
; however, the specific effects of distinct food groups on microbiome dynamics are unclear, particularly in circumstances of extreme perturbation. Here we evaluated the relationship between diet and intestinal microbiome dynamics by precisely tracking 9,419 meals consumed by 173 patients who were hospitalized for haematopoietic cell transplantation and analysing subsequent microbiome changes. Bayesian inference applied to data from 158 patients with paired longitudinal microbiome samples revealed that the intake of sweets and sugars during antibiotic exposure predicted exacerbated microbial dysbiosis, manifesting as lowered α-diversity and greater expansion of the pathobiont Enterococcus. Experiments in mice also showed that sucrose supplementation increased and prolonged antibiotic-induced Enterococcus expansion. These data suggest that avoiding a diet rich in simple sugars during antibiotic treatment may mitigate microbiota disruption. Further studies in independent cohorts will offer opportunities to generalize these findings and evaluate microbiota-sparing interventions.
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BibTeX
@article{dai2026sugarrich,
title = {{Sugar-rich foods exacerbate antibiotic-induced microbiome disruption}},
author = {Anqi Dai and Annamaria Ballweg and William Jogia and Madhumitha Rangesa and Peter A. Adintori and Mirae Baichoo and Tyler Funnell and Teng Fei and Nicholas R. Waters and Abrielle Swartz and Sukanya Sahu and Brianna Gipson and Sandeep S. Raj and Eiko Hayase and Zoe Pierce and Kenton Wu and Natalie Smith and Justin Neuberger and Adam Warren and Marina Burgos da Silva and Oriana Miltiadous and Corrado Zuanelli Brambilla and Marissa Lubin Buchan and Tatanisha K. Peets and Ana Gradíssimo and Luigi A. Amoretti and Caichen Duan and Chenzhen Zhang and Fanny Matheis and Alexis Sullivan and John B. Slingerland and Annelie G. Clurman and Daniel G. Brereton and Paul A. Giardina and Antonio L. C. Gomes and Abigail J. Johnson and Dan Knights and Robert R. Jenq and Kate Ann Markey and Miguel‐Angel Perales and Sergio A. Giralt and Marcel R.M. van den Brink and Jonas Schlüter and Jonathan U. Peled},
journal = {Nature},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1038/s41586-026-11077-3},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-11077-3},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Sugar-rich foods exacerbate antibiotic-induced microbiome disruption
AU - Anqi Dai
AU - Annamaria Ballweg
AU - William Jogia
AU - Madhumitha Rangesa
AU - Peter A. Adintori
AU - Mirae Baichoo
AU - Tyler Funnell
AU - Teng Fei
AU - Nicholas R. Waters
AU - Abrielle Swartz
AU - Sukanya Sahu
AU - Brianna Gipson
AU - Sandeep S. Raj
AU - Eiko Hayase
AU - Zoe Pierce
AU - Kenton Wu
AU - Natalie Smith
AU - Justin Neuberger
AU - Adam Warren
AU - Marina Burgos da Silva
AU - Oriana Miltiadous
AU - Corrado Zuanelli Brambilla
AU - Marissa Lubin Buchan
AU - Tatanisha K. Peets
AU - Ana Gradíssimo
AU - Luigi A. Amoretti
AU - Caichen Duan
AU - Chenzhen Zhang
AU - Fanny Matheis
AU - Alexis Sullivan
AU - John B. Slingerland
AU - Annelie G. Clurman
AU - Daniel G. Brereton
AU - Paul A. Giardina
AU - Antonio L. C. Gomes
AU - Abigail J. Johnson
AU - Dan Knights
AU - Robert R. Jenq
AU - Kate Ann Markey
AU - Miguel‐Angel Perales
AU - Sergio A. Giralt
AU - Marcel R.M. van den Brink
AU - Jonas Schlüter
AU - Jonathan U. Peled
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/30
JO - Nature
DO - 10.1038/s41586-026-11077-3
UR - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-11077-3
AB - ; however, the specific effects of distinct food groups on microbiome dynamics are unclear, particularly in circumstances of extreme perturbation. Here we evaluated the relationship between diet and intestinal microbiome dynamics by precisely tracking 9,419 meals consumed by 173 patients who were hospitalized for haematopoietic cell transplantation and analysing subsequent microbiome changes. Bayesian inference applied to data from 158 patients with paired longitudinal microbiome samples revealed that the intake of sweets and sugars during antibiotic exposure predicted exacerbated microbial dysbiosis, manifesting as lowered α-diversity and greater expansion of the pathobiont Enterococcus. Experiments in mice also showed that sucrose supplementation increased and prolonged antibiotic-induced Enterococcus expansion. These data suggest that avoiding a diet rich in simple sugars during antibiotic treatment may mitigate microbiota disruption. Further studies in independent cohorts will offer opportunities to generalize these findings and evaluate microbiota-sparing interventions.
SN - 0028-0836
SN - 1476-4687
ER -