Culturing

Currently, the novel and modified culture techniques enable us to isolate and cultivate so far non-cultured bacteria and to subject those bacteria to in-depth analyses of their molecular (proteomic/metabolic) and immunological properties they may provide to the gut environment. Comparing single-bacteria analyses with bacteria-bacteria and bacteria-host interactions in vitro and ex vivo will deliver a broad experimental data base for deciphering the situation in vivo in IBD patients and healthy controls. Defining regulatory and compensatory mechanisms in microbial communities of IBD patients on a functional level will provide novel biomarkers for disease activity and progression and may result in therapeutic options in the future.