A rising star: A comprehensive approach to Akkermansia muciniphila ecosystems, interactions and applications

Akkermansia muciniphila is a fascinating intestinal symbiont, which has received considerable attention over the last two decades due to its mechanisms of action to improve host health. The research projects in this thesis aimed to assess the functions of A. muciniphila in the human body and other hosts as well as in in vitro and in vivo models. Therefore, we used bioinformatics and phylogenetic analysis to identify newly isolated Akkermansia strains from the human body and different mammalian hosts. Furthermore, we aimed to study the functions of A. muciniphila in several in vitro and in vivo models to elucidate the stability of these functions in food-grade media, co-cultivations and a synthetic community. Lastly, we gained insight into one of the physiological characteristics of A. muciniphila, namely the production of exopolysaccharides.