In this enlightening episode, we welcome Dr. Andrés Cubillos-Ruiz, who takes us into the world of gut health and antibiotics. His pioneering research proposes a compelling solution to antibiotic-induced alterations in the gut microbiota—a problem that contributes to various metabolic and inflammatory diseases, increases the risk of secondary infections, and fuels the emergence of antimicrobial resistance.

Dr. Cubillos-Ruiz introduces us to an engineered strain of Lactococcus lactis that selflessly degrades β-lactams—a widely used class of broad-spectrum antibiotics that disrupt gut flora—through the secretion and extracellular assembly of a heterodimeric β-lactamase. He explains the unique design of this β-lactamase-expression system, which neither confers β-lactam resistance to the producer cell nor is susceptible to dissemination by horiz ...