REVIEW article
Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol.
Sec. Intestinal Microbiome
Gut Microbiota in Obesity Management: From Microbial Clocks to Precision Microbial Therapies
Liman Luo
Mei Xue
Li Sun
Zhe Dai
Zhongnan Hospital, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
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Abstract
The gut microbiota exhibits robust circadian oscillations that synchronize with host metabolic cycles. Disruption of these microbial rhythms is increasingly recognized as a factor contributing to the pathogenesis of obesity. Clinical evidence supports that chrono-modulated interventions, including chrono-nutrition, temporal fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), and engineered microbial systems, represent promising approaches in obesity management. This review synthesizes the features of gut microbiota circadian dynamics, the intrinsic and extrinsic factors regulating microbiota oscillations, and the precise microbial intervention measures targeting temporal patterns. Through the integration of insights into the microbiota-clock-metabolism axis, this review emphasizes the necessity of time-specific strategies in translating microbial circadian biology into effective, personalized obesity therapies.
Summary
Keywords
Circadian dynamics, Gut Microbiota, microbial clocks, Obesity, therapies
Received
14 September 2025
Accepted
10 February 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Luo, Xue, Sun and Dai. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Zhe Dai
Disclaimer
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