The gut microbiota houses a complex and varied microbial community that coexists in a balance which is crucial for human health but also poorly understood. The bacteria in the microbiota are open to the predation of their viruses, bacteriophages, but some of them may find refuge in the mucus that covers gut tissues, thereby preserving the balance between populations of bacteriophages and bacteria. These are the conclusions of a study led by Laurent Debarbieux, Director of Research and Head of the Bacteriophage, Bacterium, Host laboratory at the Institut Pasteur, with Luisa De Sordi, a lecturer at Sorbonne Université in the Saint-Antoine Research Center (Sorbonne Université/Inserm).

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