The impact of antibiotics on the gut microbiota as revealed by high throughput DNA sequencing.

Treatment with broad spectrum antibiotics can have a detrimental impact on the commensal bacteria present in the gut. The extensive nature of the collateral damage caused by such compounds has been revealed more starkly than ever before through the application of high throughput DNA sequencing-based technologies to investigate resulting microbial populations. Here we review the findings of such studies and discuss the strategies available to minimize such negative impacts.