scholarly journals Age-Based Variations in the Gut Microbiome of the Shennongjia (Hubei) Golden Snub-Nosed Monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana hubeiensis)

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Lijuan Yao ◽  
Xiang Li ◽  
Zutao Zhou ◽  
Deshi Shi ◽  
Zili Li ◽  
...  

The gut microbiota represents a source of genetic and metabolic diversity of a complex polymicrobial ecosystem within its host. To investigate age-based variations of the gut microbiota among Shennongjia golden snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana hubeiensis), we characterized the microbial species in fecal samples from 18 Shennongjia golden snub-nosed monkeys evenly pooled into 3 aged groups (Group 1, 1-3 years; Group 2, 5-8 years; Group 3, above 12 years) in Shennongjia, Hubei Province, China. Genomic DNA was extracted from fecal samples, and the 16S rRNA gene V4 region was sequenced using the Illumina high-throughput MiSeq platform PE250. A total of 28 microbial phyla were identified in the gut microbiome of these monkeys with the ten most abundant phyla (i.e., Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Verrucomicrobia, Spirochaetes, Tenericutes, Proteobacteria, Planctomycetes, Fibrobacteres, Cyanobacteria, and Euryarchaeota). A total of 1,469 (of 16 phyla and 166 genera), 1,381 (of 16 phyla and 157 genera), and 1,931 (of 19 phyla and 190 genera) operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were revealed in Groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively, with Group 3 containing the most diverse groups of OTUs as revealed by the species relative abundance clustering analysis. These results suggest that the gut microbiota in these monkeys maintain a dynamic status, starting from the early developmental stages of life with the species relative abundance increasing with age. This is the first study to comprehensively characterize the gut microbiota and provide valuable information for monitoring the health and nutritional needs of this endangered primate at different ages.

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 294
Author(s):  
Irina Grigor’eva ◽  
Tatiana Romanova ◽  
Natalia Naumova ◽  
Tatiana Alikina ◽  
Alexey Kuznetsov ◽  
...  

The last decade saw extensive studies of the human gut microbiome and its relationship to specific diseases, including gallstone disease (GSD). The information about the gut microbiome in GSD-afflicted Russian patients is scarce, despite the increasing GSD incidence worldwide. Although the gut microbiota was described in some GSD cohorts, little is known regarding the gut microbiome before and after cholecystectomy (CCE). By using Illumina MiSeq sequencing of 16S rRNA gene amplicons, we inventoried the fecal bacteriobiome composition and structure in GSD-afflicted females, seeking to reveal associations with age, BMI and some blood biochemistry. Overall, 11 bacterial phyla were identified, containing 916 operational taxonomic units (OTUs). The fecal bacteriobiome was dominated by Firmicutes (66% relative abundance), followed by Bacteroidetes (19%), Actinobacteria (8%) and Proteobacteria (4%) phyla. Most (97%) of the OTUs were minor or rare species with ≤1% relative abundance. Prevotella and Enterocossus were linked to blood bilirubin. Some taxa had differential pre- and post-CCE abundance, despite the very short time (1–3 days) elapsed after CCE. The detailed description of the bacteriobiome in pre-CCE female patients suggests bacterial foci for further research to elucidate the gut microbiota and GSD relationship and has potentially important biological and medical implications regarding gut bacteria involvement in the increased GSD incidence rate in females.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sang Gil Lee ◽  
Cao Lei ◽  
Melissa Melough ◽  
Junichi Sakaki ◽  
Kendra Maas ◽  
...  

Abstract Objectives Blackcurrant, an anthocyanin-rich berry, has multiple health benefits. The purpose of this study was to examine the impacts of blackcurrant supplementation and aging on gut bacterial communities in female mice. Methods Three-month and 18-month old female mice were provided standard chow diets with or without anthocyanin-rich blackcurrant extract (BC) (1% w/w) for four months. Upon study completion, fecal samples were collected directly from the animals’ colons. Microbiome DNA was extracted from the fecal samples and the V3-V4 regions of their 16S rRNA gene were amplified and sequenced using Results Taxonomic analysis showed a significantly decrease in alpha diversity in aged female mice, compared to young counterparts. BC consumption did not alter the alpha diversity in either young or aged mice compared to control diets. For beta diversity, we observed the clustering was associated with age but not diet. The phylogenic abundance analysis showed that the relative abundance of several phyla, including Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Cyanobacteria, Proteobacteria, and Tenericutes was higher in aged compared to young mice. Among them, the abundance of Firmicutes was downregulated by BC in the young but not the aged mice. The abundance of Bacteroidetes was increased by BC in both the young and the aged groups. Noticeably, Verrucomicrobia was the only phylum whose relative abundance was upregulated in the aged female mice compared to the young mice. Meanwhile, its relative abundance in the aged group was suppressed by BC. Interestingly, Desulfovibrio, which is the most representative sulfate-reducing genus, was detectable only in young female mice, and BC increased its relative abundance. Conclusions Our results characterized the gut microbiome compositions in young and aged female mice, and indicated that the gut microbiome of young and aged female mice responded differently to four month BC administration. Through additional research, the microbial alterations observed in this study should be further investigated to inform our understanding of the effect of BC on the gut microbiome, the possible health benefits related to these changes, and the differing effects of BC supplementation across populations. Funding Sources This study was supported by the USDA NIFA Seed Grant (#2016-67018-24492) and the University of Connecticut Foundation Esperance Funds to Dr. Ock K. Chun. We thank the National Institute on Aging for providing aged mice for the project and Just the Berries Ltd. for providing the blackcurrant extract.


2019 ◽  
Vol 97 (Supplement_3) ◽  
pp. 242-243
Author(s):  
Xiaofan Wang ◽  
Xiaoyuan Wei ◽  
Feilong Deng ◽  
Tsungcheng Tsai ◽  
Charles V Maxwell ◽  
...  

Abstract Substantial progress has been made in the culture-omics of the human gut microbiota. However, little is known about the culture-omics of the swine gut microbiota, despite recent reports of their significant roles in swine health and production. To fill this knowledge gap in research, we tested 52 bacterial cultivation methods with different media and gas combinations. Fresh fecal samples (0.2g/sample) were collected from three pigs at the end of four growth stages: lactation, nursery, growing and finishing and were mixed with a stomacher in 20 mL saline. Aliquots of 50 uL microbial suspensions were then spread onto different media plates and incubated under aerobic and anaerobic conditions at 37C for up to 5 days. An additional aliquot of each sample was subjected to direct DNA extraction as a positive control. Bacterial colonies from each plate were collected and DNA was extracted from these samples using the Powersoil DNA isolation kit and sequenced with an Illumina Miseq sequencer targeting the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene. Sequences were analyzed with the Deblur algorithm in the QIIME2 package. A total of 378, 482, 565, and 555 bacterial features were observed from microbial solutions at the end of lactation, nursery, growing and finishing. Our culturing methods recovered 415, 675, 808, and 823 features correspondingly, representing 45.2%, 54.8%, 53.3%, and 56.4% of total features observed in microbial solutions. The top ten most easily cultured genus were Escherichia, Streptococcus, Lactobacillus, Megasphaera, Acidaminococcus, Bacillus, Mitsuokella, Enterococcus and Prevotella. Non-parametric permutational multivariate analysis of variance shows that the main factors driving the swine culture-omics included medium, age and oxygen condition. This study identifies the cultivable bacteria from fecal samples collected at different growth stages of pigs and provides a guidance to cultivate potential beneficial or pathogenic bacteria of interests and validate their functions in swine production.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. 394-394
Author(s):  
Moamen Elmassry ◽  
Rui Wang ◽  
Abdul Hamood ◽  
Volker Neugebauer ◽  
Chwan-Li Shen

Abstract Objectives Emerging evidence has suggested that gut microbiota plays a key role during the development of chronic pain, such as neuropathic pain (NP). This study was to evaluate the effects of two ginger root extract isomers (gingerols and shogaols) on the composition and function of gut microbiota in animals with NP. Methods Sixteen male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned into 4 groups: sham group, spinal nerve ligation (SNL) group as the pain control group, SNL + gingerols-enriched ginger (GEG) extract group, and SNL + shogaols-enriched ginger (SEG) extract group. Animals in GEG and SEG groups were fed their respective diets on the day of SNL surgery for 30 days. At day 30, fecal samples were collected for microbiota composition and functional analyses. 16S rRNA gene sequencing was conducted from fecal samples and microbiome data analysis was performed with QIIME2 and PICRUSt2. Data were analyzed using non-parametric Kruskal–Wallis test to compare GEG and SEG with SNL group. Results Based on the results of alpha-diversity analyses, neither GEG nor SEG treatment affected the evenness of microbiome. Gingerols or shogaols supplementation into the diet reduced the richness of the gut microbiome, compared to the SNL group. Relative to the SNL group, GEG group had an increase in the relative abundance of the genus Faecalitalea, while SEG group had an increase in the relative abundance of the genus Aerococcus and species Bacteroides massiliensis. In comparison to SNL group, both GEG and SEG groups showed a decrease in the relative abundance of the family Muribaculaceae and the genus Rikenellaceae RC9 gut group. Functional profiling results revealed that relative to the SNL group, both GEG and SEG supplementation increased the proportion of biosynthetic pathways related to energy metabolism (i.e., pentose phosphate pathway and sugar degradation) and peptidoglycan biosynthesis. Furthermore, GEG and SEG differentially modified amino acid-related metabolic pathways, i.e., tyrosine degradation, tryptophan biosynthesis, arginine, and ornithine biosynthesis. Conclusions GEG and SEG exhibited differential effects on the microbiome composition and function, suggesting a prebiotic potential for dietary ginger root intake in the management of NP. Funding Sources Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chunyan Wu ◽  
Qian Xu ◽  
Zhan Cao ◽  
Dengdeng Pan ◽  
Ying Zhu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has rapidly become a global pandemic, and little is known regarding the gut microbiota dynamics of the disease that often features a drastic and swift progression. Here we employed analyses of 16S rRNA gene sequencing and metatranscriptome to investigate the gut microbiome characteristics of a group of COVID-19 patients over the course of a probiotics-assisted therapy. Results The COVID-19 patients exhibited apparent microbiota alterations characterized by prominent compositional and functional shifts, which included taxonomic changes (e.g., increased relative abundance of Enterococcus and Rhodococcus, and decreased relative abundance of Faecalibacterium and Clostridium XlVa) and transcriptional changes (e.g., increased transcriptional activities of Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae, virulence factors, and antibiotic resistance genes, and decreased activities of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii). Importantly, there were great interpersonal heterogeneity and intertimepoint fluctuations, as the most abundant or transcriptionally active taxa often greatly differed among individual patients and timepoints. Coincided with the resolution of respiratory symptoms, after the therapy some patients showed signs of recovery in the gut microbiome abnormalities. Associations were identified between gut and airway taxa and serum factors. Conclusion Our findings suggested that there is a lack of gut microbiota stability in COVID-19 patients and that measures are needed to ameliorate the gut microbiome perturbations in the patients to improve the prognosis. In addition, inclusion of probiotics is safe for treating COVID-19 patients and may improve their prognosis. Trial registration ISRCTN, ChiCTR2000029999. Registered 19 February 2020, http://www.chictr.org.cn/showprojen.aspx?proj=49717


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa Palmas ◽  
Silvia Pisanu ◽  
Veronica Madau ◽  
Emanuela Casula ◽  
Andrea Deledda ◽  
...  

AbstractIn the present study, we characterized the distinctive signatures of the gut microbiota (GM) from overweight/obese patients (OB), and normal-weight controls (NW), both of Sardinian origin. Fecal bacterial composition of 46 OB patients (BMI = 36.6 ± 6.0; F/M = 40/6) was analyzed and compared to that of 46 NW subjects (BMI = 21.6 ± 2.1; F/M = 41/5), matched for sex, age and smoking status, by using 16S rRNA gene sequencing on MiSeq Illumina platform. The gut microbial community of OB patients exhibited a significant decrease in the relative abundance of several Bacteroidetes taxa (i.e. Flavobacteriaceae, Porphyromonadaceae, Sphingobacteriaceae, Flavobacterium, Rikenella spp., Pedobacter spp., Parabacteroides spp., Bacteroides spp.) when compared to NW; instead, several Firmicutes taxa were significantly increased in the same subjects (Lachnospiraceae, Gemellaceae, Paenibacillaceae, Streptococcaceae, Thermicanaceae, Gemella, Mitsuokella, Streptococcus, Acidaminococcus spp., Eubacterium spp., Ruminococcus spp., Megamonas spp., Streptococcus, Thermicanus, Megasphaera spp. and Veillonella spp.). Correlation analysis indicated that body fatness and waist circumference negatively correlated with Bacteroidetes taxa, while Firmicutes taxa positively correlated with body fat and negatively with muscle mass and/or physical activity level. Furthermore, the relative abundance of several bacterial taxa belonging to Enterobacteriaceae family, known to exhibit endotoxic activity, was increased in the OB group compared to NW. The results extend our knowledge on the GM profiles in Italian OB, identifying novel taxa linking obesity and intestine.


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
pp. 117693432199635
Author(s):  
Daoxin Liu ◽  
Pengfei Song ◽  
Jingyan Yan ◽  
Haijing Wang ◽  
Zhenyuan Cai ◽  
...  

Wild-caught animals must cope with drastic lifestyle and dietary changes after being induced to captivity. How the gut microbiome structure of these animals will change in response receives increasing attention. The plateau zokor ( Eospalax baileyi), a typic subterranean rodent endemic to the Qinghai-Tibet plateau, spends almost the whole life underground and is well adapted to the environmental pressures of both plateau and underground. However, how the gut microbiome of the plateau zokor will change in response to captivity has not been reported to date. This study compared the microbial community structure and functions of 22 plateau zokors before (the WS group) and after being kept in captivity for 15 days (the LS group, fed on carrots) using the 16S rRNA gene via high-throughput sequencing technology. The results showed that the LS group retained 973 of the 977 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) in the WS group, and no new OTUs were found in the LS group. The dominant bacterial phyla were Bacteroides and Firmicutes in both groups. In alpha diversity analysis, the Shannon, Sobs, and ACE indexes of the LS group were significantly lower than those of the WS group. A remarkable difference ( P < 0.01) between groups was also detected in beta diversity analysis. The UPGMA clustering, NMDS, PCoA, and Anosim results all showed that the intergroup difference was significantly greater than the intragroup difference. And compared with the WS group, the intragroup difference of the gut microbiota in the LS group was much larger, which failed to support the assumption that similar diets should drive convergence of gut microbial communities. PICRUSt revealed that although some functional categories displayed significant differences between groups, the relative abundances of these categories were very close in both groups. Based on all the results, we conclude that as plateau zokors enter captivity for a short time, although the relative abundances of different gut microbiota categories shifted significantly, they can maintain almost all the OTUs and the functions of the gut microbiota in the wild. So, the use of wild-caught plateau zokors in gut microbial studies is acceptable if the time in captivity is short.


BMC Cancer ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lito E. Papanicolas ◽  
Sarah K. Sims ◽  
Steven L. Taylor ◽  
Sophie J. Miller ◽  
Christos S. Karapetis ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The gut microbiota influences many aspects of host physiology, including immune regulation, and is predictive of outcomes in cancer patients. However, whether conventional myelosuppressive chemotherapy affects the gut microbiota in humans with non-haematological malignancy, independent of antibiotic exposure, is unknown. Methods Faecal samples from 19 participants with non-haematological malignancy, who were receiving conventional chemotherapy regimens but not antibiotics, were examined prior to chemotherapy, 7–12 days after chemotherapy, and at the end of the first cycle of treatment. Gut microbiota diversity and composition was determined by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. Results Compared to pre-chemotherapy samples, samples collected 7–12 days following chemotherapy exhibited increased richness (mean 120 observed species ± SD 38 vs 134 ± 40; p = 0.007) and diversity (Shannon diversity: mean 6.4 ± 0.43 vs 6.6 ± 0.41; p = 0.02). Composition was significantly altered, with a significant decrease in the relative abundance of gram-positive bacteria in the phylum Firmicutes (pre-chemotherapy median relative abundance [IQR] 0.78 [0.11] vs 0.75 [0.11]; p = 0.003), and an increase in the relative abundance of gram-negative bacteria (Bacteroidetes: median [IQR] 0.16 [0.13] vs 0.21 [0.13]; p = 0.01 and Proteobacteria: 0.015 [0.018] vs 0.03 [0.03]; p = 0.02). Differences in microbiota characteristics from baseline were no longer significant at the end of the chemotherapy cycle. Conclusions Conventional chemotherapy results in significant changes in gut microbiota characteristics during the period of predicted myelosuppression post-chemotherapy. Further study is indicated to link microbiome changes during chemotherapy to clinical outcomes.


Metabolites ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 482
Author(s):  
Jae-Kwon Jo ◽  
Seung-Ho Seo ◽  
Seong-Eun Park ◽  
Hyun-Woo Kim ◽  
Eun-Ju Kim ◽  
...  

Obesity can be caused by microbes producing metabolites; it is thus important to determine the correlation between gut microbes and metabolites. This study aimed to identify gut microbiota-metabolomic signatures that change with a high-fat diet and understand the underlying mechanisms. To investigate the profiles of the gut microbiota and metabolites that changed after a 60% fat diet for 8 weeks, 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)-based metabolomic analyses were performed. Mice belonging to the HFD group showed a significant decrease in the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes but an increase in the relative abundance of Firmicutes compared to the control group. The relative abundance of Firmicutes, such as Lactococcus, Blautia, Lachnoclostridium, Oscillibacter, Ruminiclostridium, Harryflintia, Lactobacillus, Oscillospira, and Erysipelatoclostridium, was significantly higher in the HFD group than in the control group. The increased relative abundance of Firmicutes in the HFD group was positively correlated with fecal ribose, hypoxanthine, fructose, glycolic acid, ornithine, serum inositol, tyrosine, and glycine. Metabolic pathways affected by a high fat diet on serum were involved in aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis, glycine, serine and threonine metabolism, cysteine and methionine metabolism, glyoxylate and dicarboxylate metabolism, and phenylalanine, tyrosine, and trypto-phan biosynthesis. This study provides insight into the dysbiosis of gut microbiota and metabolites altered by HFD and may help to understand the mechanisms underlying obesity mediated by gut microbiota.


Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 1682
Author(s):  
Ewa Łoś-Rycharska ◽  
Marcin Gołębiewski ◽  
Marcin Sikora ◽  
Tomasz Grzybowski ◽  
Marta Gorzkiewicz ◽  
...  

The gut microbiota in patients with food allergy, and the skin microbiota in atopic dermatitis patients differ from those of healthy people. We hypothesize that relationships may exist between gut and skin microbiota in patients with allergies. The aim of this study was to determine the possible relationship between gut and skin microbiota in patients with allergies, hence simultaneous analysis of the two compartments of microbiota was performed in infants with and without allergic symptoms. Fifty-nine infants with food allergy and/or atopic dermatitis and 28 healthy children were enrolled in the study. The skin and gut microbiota were evaluated using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. No significant differences in the α-diversity of dermal or fecal microbiota were observed between allergic and non-allergic infants; however, a significant relationship was found between bacterial community structure and allergy phenotypes, especially in the fecal samples. Certain clinical conditions were associated with characteristic bacterial taxa in the skin and gut microbiota. Positive correlations were found between skin and fecal samples in the abundance of Gemella among allergic infants, and Lactobacillus and Bacteroides among healthy infants. Although infants with allergies and healthy infants demonstrate microbiota with similar α-diversity, some differences in β-diversity and bacterial species abundance can be seen, which may depend on the phenotype of the allergy. For some organisms, their abundance in skin and feces samples may be correlated, and these correlations might serve as indicators of the host’s allergic state.


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