scholarly journals Differences in the gut microbiomes of distinct ethnicities within the same geographic area are linked to host metabolic health

Author(s):  
Qi Yan Ang ◽  
Diana L. Alba ◽  
Vaibhav Upadhyay ◽  
Jordan E. Bisanz ◽  
Jingwei Cai ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: The human gut microbiota exhibits marked variation around the world, which has been attributed to dietary intake and other environmental factors. However, the degree to which ethnicity-associated differences in gut microbial community structure and function are maintained following immigration or in the context of metabolic disease is poorly understood.Results: We conducted a multi-omic study of 46 lean and obese East Asian and White participants living in the San Francisco Bay Area. 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed significant differences between ethnic groups in bacterial richness and community structure. White individuals were enriched for the mucin-degrading Akkermansia muciniphila. East Asian participants had increased levels of multiple bacterial phyla, fermentative pathways detected by metagenomics, and the short-chain fatty acid end products acetate, propionate, and isobutyrate. Differences in the gut microbiota between the East Asian and White groups could not be explained by reported dietary intake, were more pronounced in lean individuals, and were associated with current geographical location. Microbiome transplantations into germ-free mice confirmed that the differences in the gut microbiota of the East Asian and White individuals we analyzed are independent of diet and that they differentially impact host body weight and adiposity in genetically identical mouse recipients.Conclusions: The reported findings emphasize the utility of studying diverse ethnic groups within a defined geographical location and provide a starting point for dissecting the mechanisms contributing to the complex interactions between the gut microbiome and ethnicity-associated lifestyle, demographic, metabolic, and genetic factors.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qi Yan Ang ◽  
Diana L. Alba ◽  
Vaibhav Upadhyay ◽  
Jordan E. Bisanz ◽  
Jingwei Cai ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTBackgroundThe human gut microbiota exhibits marked variation around the world, which has been attributed to dietary intake and other environmental factors. However, the degree to which ethnicity-associated differences in gut microbial community structure and function are maintained following immigration or in the context of metabolic disease is poorly understood.ResultsWe conducted a multi-omic study of 46 lean and obese East Asian (EA) and White (W) participants living in the San Francisco Bay Area. 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed significant differences between ethnic groups in bacterial richness and community structure. W individuals were enriched for the mucin-degrading Akkermansia muciniphila. EA participants had increased levels of multiple Bacteroidetes species, fermentative pathways detected by metagenomics, and the short-chain fatty acid end products acetate, propionate, and isobutyrate. Differences in the gut microbiota between the EA and W groups could not be explained by reported dietary intake, were more pronounced for lean individuals, and were associated with current geographical location. Microbiome transplantations into germ-free mice confirmed that the differences in the gut microbiota of the EA and W individuals we analyzed are indeed independent of diet and that they differentially impact host body weight and adiposity in genetically identical mouse recipients.ConclusionsThe reported findings emphasize the utility of studying diverse ethnic groups within a defined geographical location and provide a starting point for dissecting the mechanisms contributing to the complex interactions between the gut microbiome and ethnicity-associated lifestyle, demographic, metabolic, and genetic factors.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qi Yan Ang ◽  
Diana L Alba ◽  
Vaibhav Upadhyay ◽  
Jordan E. Bisanz ◽  
Jingwei Cai ◽  
...  

Abstract BackgroundThe human gut microbiota exhibits marked variation around the world, which has been attributed to dietary intake and other environmental factors. However, the degree to which ethnicity-associated differences in gut microbial community structure and function are maintained following immigration or in the context of metabolic disease is poorly understood.ResultsWe conducted a multi-omic study of 46 lean and obese East Asian (EA) and White (W) participants living in the San Francisco Bay Area. 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed significant differences between ethnic groups in bacterial richness and community structure. W individuals were enriched for the mucin-degrading Akkermansia muciniphila. EA participants had increased levels of multiple Bacteroidetes species, fermentative pathways detected by metagenomics, and the short-chain fatty acid end products acetate, propionate, and isobutyrate. Differences in the gut microbiota between the EA and W groups could not be explained by reported dietary intake, were more pronounced for lean individuals, and were associated with current geographical location. Microbiome transplantations into germ-free mice confirmed that the differences in the gut microbiota of the EA and W individuals we analyzed are indeed independent of diet and that they differentially impact host body weight and adiposity in genetically identical mouse recipients.ConclusionsThe reported findings emphasize the utility of studying diverse ethnic groups within a defined geographical location and provide a starting point for dissecting the mechanisms contributing to the complex interactions between the gut microbiome and ethnicity-associated lifestyle, demographic, metabolic, and genetic factors.


eLife ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qi Yan Ang ◽  
Diana L Alba ◽  
Vaibhav Upadhyay ◽  
Jordan E Bisanz ◽  
Jingwei Cai ◽  
...  

East Asians experience worse metabolic health outcomes compared to other ethnic groups at lower body mass indices; however, the potential role of the gut microbiota in contributing to these health disparities remains unknown. We conducted a multi-omic study of 46 lean and obese East Asian and White participants living in the San Francisco Bay Area, revealing marked differences between ethnic groups in bacterial richness and community structure. White individuals were enriched for the mucin-degrading Akkermansia muciniphila. East Asian subjects had increased levels of multiple bacterial phyla, fermentative pathways detected by metagenomics, and the short-chain fatty acid end-products acetate, propionate, and isobutyrate. Differences in the gut microbiota between the East Asian and White subjects could not be explained by dietary intake, were more pronounced in lean individuals, and were associated with current geographical location. Microbiome transplantations into germ-free mice demonstrated stable diet- and host genotype-independent differences between the gut microbiotas of East Asian and White individuals that differentially impact host body composition. Taken together, our findings add to the growing body of literature describing variation between ethnicities and provide a starting point for defining the mechanisms through which the microbiome may shape disparate health outcomes in East Asians.


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.


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.


Pathogens ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 396
Author(s):  
Ewa Sajnaga ◽  
Marcin Skowronek ◽  
Agnieszka Kalwasińska ◽  
Waldemar Kazimierczak ◽  
Karolina Ferenc ◽  
...  

This study focused on the potential relationships between midgut microbiota of the common cockchafer Melolontha melolontha larvae and their resistance to entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN) infection. We investigated the bacterial community associated with control and unsusceptible EPN-exposed insects through nanopore sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Bacteroidetes were the most abundant bacterial phyla within the complex and variable midgut microbiota of the wild M. melolontha larvae. The core microbiota was found to include 82 genera, which accounted for 3.4% of the total number of identified genera. The EPN-resistant larvae differed significantly from the control ones in the abundance of many genera belonging to the Actinomycetales, Rhizobiales, and Clostridiales orders. Additionally, the analysis of the microbiome networks revealed different sets of keystone midgut bacterial genera between these two groups of insects, indicating differences in the mutual interactions between bacteria. Finally, we detected Xenorhabdus and Photorhabdus as gut residents and various bacterial species exhibiting antagonistic activity against these entomopathogens. This study paves the way to further research aimed at unravelling the role of the host gut microbiota on the output of EPN infection, which may contribute to enhancement of the efficiency of nematodes used in eco-friendly pest management.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. e896
Author(s):  
Alexandre Lecomte ◽  
Lucie Barateau ◽  
Pedro Pereira ◽  
Lars Paulin ◽  
Petri Auvinen ◽  
...  

ObjectiveTo test the hypothesis that narcolepsy type 1 (NT1) is related to the gut microbiota, we compared the microbiota bacterial communities of patients with NT1 and control subjects.MethodsThirty-five patients with NT1 (51.43% women, mean age 38.29 ± 19.98 years) and 41 controls (57.14% women, mean age 36.14 ± 12.68 years) were included. Stool samples were collected, and the fecal microbiota bacterial communities were compared between patients and controls using the well-standardized 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing approach. We studied alpha and beta diversity and differential abundance analysis between patients and controls, and between subgroups of patients with NT1.ResultsWe found no between-group differences for alpha diversity, but we discovered in NT1 a link with NT1 disease duration. We highlighted differences in the global bacterial community structure as assessed by beta diversity metrics even after adjustments for potential confounders as body mass index (BMI), often increased in NT1. Our results revealed differential abundance of several operational taxonomic units within Bacteroidetes, Bacteroides, and Flavonifractor between patients and controls, but not after adjusting for BMI.ConclusionWe provide evidence of gut microbial community structure alterations in NT1. However, further larger and longitudinal multiomics studies are required to replicate and elucidate the relationship between the gut microbiota, immunity dysregulation and NT1.


2005 ◽  
Vol 71 (11) ◽  
pp. 6590-6599 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuichi Hongoh ◽  
Pinsurang Deevong ◽  
Tetsushi Inoue ◽  
Shigeharu Moriya ◽  
Savitr Trakulnaleamsai ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT We investigated the bacterial gut microbiota from 32 colonies of wood-feeding termites, comprising four Microcerotermes species (Termitidae) and four Reticulitermes species (Rhinotermitidae), using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis and clonal analysis of 16S rRNA. The obtained molecular community profiles were compared statistically between individuals, colonies, locations, and species of termites. Both analyses revealed that the bacterial community structure was remarkably similar within each termite genus, with small but significant differences between sampling sites and/or termite species. In contrast, considerable differences were found between the two termite genera. Only one bacterial phylotype (defined with 97% sequence identity) was shared between the two termite genera, while 18% and 50% of the phylotypes were shared between two congeneric species in the genera Microcerotermes and Reticulitermes, respectively. Nevertheless, a phylogenetic analysis of 228 phylotypes from Microcerotermes spp. and 367 phylotypes from Reticulitermes spp. with other termite gut clones available in public databases demonstrated the monophyly of many phylotypes from distantly related termites. The monophyletic “termite clusters” comprised of phylotypes from more than one termite species were distributed among 15 bacterial phyla, including the novel candidate phyla TG2 and TG3. These termite clusters accounted for 95% of the 960 clones analyzed in this study. Moreover, the clusters in 12 phyla comprised phylotypes from more than one termite (sub)family, accounting for 75% of the analyzed clones. Our results suggest that the majority of gut bacteria are not allochthonous but are specific symbionts that have coevolved with termites and that their community structure is basically consistent within a genus of termites.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Hua ◽  
Heqin Cao ◽  
Jiao Wang ◽  
Fengping He ◽  
Guangshun Jiang

Abstract Background Gut microbes significantly contribute to nutrient digestion and absorption, intestinal health and immunity, and are essential for the survival and environmental adaptation of wild animals. However, there are few studies on the gut microbiota of captive and wild North China leopard (Panthera pardus japonensis). Results A total of 10 mainly bacterial phyla were identified in the fecal microbiota of North China leopard, Lachnoclostridium (p = 0.003), Peptoclostridium (p = 0.005), Bacteroides (p = 0.008), Fusobacterium (p = 0.017) and Collinsella (p = 0.019) were significantly higher than those of wild North China leopard. Distinct differences in the fecal metabolic phenotypes of captive and wild North China leopard were found, such as content of l-methionine, n-acetyl-l-tyrosine, pentadecanoic acid and oleic acid. Differentially abundant gut microbes were associated with fecal metabolites, especially the bacteria in Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes, involved in the metabolism of N-acetyl-L-alanine and D-quinovose. Conclusion This study reports for the first time the differences in gut microbiota abundance between captive and wild North China leopard, as well as significant differences in fecal metabolic phenotypes between two groups.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian von Huth ◽  
Louise B. Thingholm ◽  
Poul-Erik Kofoed ◽  
Corinna Bang ◽  
Malte C. Rühlemann ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Intestinal parasitic infections, caused by helminths and protozoa, are globally distributed and major causes of worldwide morbidity. The gut microbiota may modulate parasite virulence and host response upon infection. The complex interplay between parasites and the gut microbiota is poorly understood, partly due to sampling difficulties in remote areas with high parasite prevalence and burden. Results: In a large study of children in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau, we found high prevalence of intestinal parasites, including hookworms, Entamoeba spp. and Giardia lamblia. By high-quality sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene of fecal samples stored on filter paper from a total of 1,204 children, we demonstrate that the bacterial microbiota is more or less unaltered by helminth infections, whereas it is shaped by the presence of both pathogenic and non-pathogenic protozoa, including Entamoeba spp. and Giardia lamblia. Within-sample (alpha) diversity remains largely unaffected, whereas overall community composition (beta diversity) is significantly affected by infection with both nonpathogenic Entamoeba coli (R2=0.0131, P= 0.0001) and Endolimax nana (R2=0.00902, P= 0.0001), and by pathogenic Entamoeba histolytica (R2=0.0164, P= 0.0001) and Giardia lamblia (R2=0.00676, P= 0.0001). Heavy infection load with multiple parasite species induces more pronounced shifts in microbiota community than mild ones. A total of 31 bacterial genera across all four major gut bacterial phyla associates with protozoan infection, including increased abundance of Prevotella, Campylobacter and two Clostridium clades (IV and WIVb), and decreased abundance of Collinsella (associated with irritable bowel syndrome), Lactobacillus, Ruminococcus, Veillonella and one Clostridium clade (XVIII). Further, we demonstrate that filter papers are usable for storage of samples at room temperature in large-scale studies where immediate freezing is not possible with minor alterations of microbiota composition. Conclusion: In the present largest-to-date study, we demonstrate that the fecal bacterial microbiota is shaped by intestinal parasitic infection, with most pronounced associations for protozoan species. Our results provide insights into the interplay between the microbiota and intestinal parasites, which are useful to understand infection outcome and design further studies aimed at optimizing treatment strategies.


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