Although the presence of mucin‐consuming taxa is associated with increased mucin production, it is unclear whether this is a beneficial trait as the breakdown of the mucin barrier is often associated with negative impacts to the underlying gut epithelium 5, and its loss can be a pathway to infection 6, loss of gut epithelial barrier function 7, or spontaneous inflammation resembling colitis 8. The gene discussed is MUC5AC; the disease is infection.