Gut3Gel: A High Throughput Mucus Model for Culturing Human Intestinal Microbiota

Background The human intestinal microbiota plays a crucial role in health and disease, yet recreating its complex interactions in vitro remains a significant challenge. Gut³Gel introduced herein as a novel in vitro mucus model, designed for culturing complex microbial communities without the need for anaerobic conditions. Results Intestinal microbiota samples from five donors were individually inoculated in Gut³Gel and cultured for 72 hours. Taxonomic composition assessment revealed that Gut³Gel sustains diverse microbial species and particularly promotes the growth of mucus-associated bacteria including Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, and Faecalibacterium. Microbial metabolic activity within Gut³Gel was confirmed by the increased production of acetate and butyrate, as well as of exopolysaccharides. Conclusions Gut³Gel reproduces physiological features of intestinal mucus, providing a reproducible and scalable culturing platform. These features make Gut³Gel a promising tool for advancing microbiota research with potential applications in drug screening, microbiome mining, and high throughput testing of microbiome-modulating molecules.