Bacteria as pacemaker for the intestine

(Kiel University) For the first time, a research team from the Cell and Developmental Biology (Bosch AG) working group at the Zoological Institute at Kiel University (CAU) has been able to prove that the bacterial colonisation of the intestine plays an important role in controlling peristaltic functions. The scientists published their results yesterday -- derived from the example of freshwater polyps Hydra -- in the latest issue of Scientific Reports.