Seyoum Y. auteur aut IRD Baye K. auteur aut IRD Humblot Christèle auteur aut IRD text journalArticle eng text/pdf reformatted digital access Iron deficiency is the most frequent nutritional deficiency in the world with an estimated 1.4 billion people affected. The usual way to fight iron deficiency is iron fortification, but this approach is not always effective and can have undesirable side effects including an increase in the growth and virulence of gut bacterial pathogens responsible for diarrhea and gut inflammation. Iron is mainly absorbed in the duodenum and is tightly regulated in mammals. Unabsorbed iron enters the colonic lumen where many microorganisms, referred to as gut microbiota, reside. Iron is essential for these bacteria, and its availability consequently affects this microbial ecosystem. The aim of this review is to provide further insights into the complex relationship between iron and gut microbiota. Given that overcoming anemia caused by iron deficiency is still a challenge today, gut microbiota could help identify more efficient ways to tackle this public health problem. specialized Anemia bacteria gut human iron metabolism microbiota rodent 084 054 050 080 13 1 e1874855 [19 ] 2021 1949-0976 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010080896 10.1080/19490976.2021.1874855 1949-0976 [F B010080896] https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010080896 https://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/divers21-02/010080896.pdf IRD - Base Horizon / Pleins textes 2021-03-10 2026-01-22 fdi:010080896 fre