16S rRNA测序技术在肠道微生物中的应用研究进展

16S rRNA测序是高通量测序依赖的肠道微生物研究方法之一,该方法可以对肠道微生物中的所有菌种进行精确定量,因此正逐渐成为研究肠道微生物菌种丰度变化的主流。肠道微生物16S rRNA测序的应用过程中有两个问题至关重要,一是如何根据需要选择测序方案;二是面对高通量测序得到的海量数据,如何进行生物信息学分析,以得到具有生物学意义的结果。从测序平台、测序片段、测序数据量的选择3个方面讨论了如何选择测序方案,并从序列聚类与注释、群落结构分析、关键分类单位的筛选与功能分析等方面对目前常用的生物信息学分析手段进行综述。     

基于不同通用引物比较分析肠道微生物群落变化

肠道微生物对于人体健康的重要作用已经得到广泛证实,目前,对肠道微生物的研究大多采用基于扩增细菌16S rRNA基因V3-V4区的高通量测序分析,对古菌的关注较少。本研究选择了一对可以同时扩增细菌和古菌16S rRNA基因的引物,通过比较人为干扰肠道微生物前后的群落变化,说明这对引物适宜分析人类肠道细菌和古菌群落变化并具有一定优越性。采集志愿者粪便样品,同时用仅能扩增细菌引物(B引物)和细菌古菌通用引物(AB引物)进行扩增和高通量测序;使用几个常用的rRNA数据库判断引物对细菌的覆盖度和对古菌的扩增能力。结果表明,AB引物在可以展示B引物扩增出的细菌群落的基础上,可以得到肠道中常见的产甲烷古菌的序列,同时也展示出人为干扰肠道微生物前后的群落结构变化。AB引物可以仅通过一次扩增和测序同时分析肠道中的细菌和古菌群落,更加全面展示肠道微生物群落结构,适用于肠道微生物相关研究。     

油茶地蜂不同龄期幼虫肠道细菌多样性及其差异分析

蜜蜂肠道微生物在其宿主健康与调控宿主生长发育中起着重要作用。油茶地蜂Andrena camellia Wu是油茶的优势传粉昆虫。本研究从野外挖掘该蜂典型样地的巢穴得到油茶地蜂1~5龄及滞育阶段的幼虫,通过PCR扩增得到幼虫肠道微生物16S rRNA基因文库,利用Illumina Miseq二代高通量测序技术首次研究了油茶地蜂不同龄期幼虫肠道细菌的群落结构和多样性。结果显示,油茶地蜂幼虫肠道细菌菌群共检测到27个门,72个纲,155个目,278个科,570个属。其中,最主要的门为变形菌门Proteobacteria（占40.05%）,最主要的目为乳杆菌目Lactobacillales（占12.16%）,最主要的科为乳杆菌科Lactobacillaceae(占11.27%）,最主要的属是乳杆菌属Lactobacillus（占11.27%）。核心细菌群落组间差异、Alpha多样性以及Beta多样性分析显示：不同龄期油茶地蜂幼虫肠道细菌群落在组成、多样性以及结构上均存在显著差异。线性判别分析结果显示,不动杆菌属Acinetobacter和红球菌属Rhodococcus主要存在于5龄幼虫阶段,巴尔通氏体属Bartonella和肠杆菌属Enterobacter主要存在于1龄幼虫阶段。本研究明确了油茶地蜂不同龄期幼虫肠道微生物组成、优势菌群及其群落变化规律,为油茶地蜂等土壤筑巢独栖野生蜜蜂肠道微生物学及其保护生物学的相关研究提供理论依据及研究角度。     

16S rRNA基因在微生物生态学中的应用

16S rRNA(Small subunit ribosomal RNA)基因是对原核微生物进行系统进化分类研究时最常用的分子标志物(Biomarker),广泛应用于微生物生态学研究中。近些年来随着高通量测序技术及数据分析方法等的不断进步,大量基于16S rRNA基因的研究使得微生物生态学得到了快速发展,然而使用16S rRNA基因作为分子标志物时也存在诸多问题,比如水平基因转移、多拷贝的异质性、基因扩增效率的差异、数据分析方法的选择等,这些问题影响了微生物群落组成和多样性分析时的准确性。对当前使用16S rRNA基因分析微生物群落组成和多样性的进展情况做一总结,重点讨论当前存在的主要问题以及各种分析方法的发展,尤其是与高通量测序技术有关的实验和数据处理问题。     

本期重点推介

正肠道微生物与宿主多种生命活动息息相关,在抑制微生物病原的定殖和入侵、复杂碳水化合物的发酵和吸收以及重要营养物质的合成等方面均有重要作用。大分舌蜂Colleles gigas是一种土壤筑巢独栖性野生蜜蜂。为了探究大分舌蜂生活史不同阶段肠道微生物的适应性变化趋势,重庆师范大学生命科学学院寇若玫和黄敦元等从野外采集大分舌蜂1-5龄幼虫及滞育预蛹,提取肠道内容物细菌DNA进行16S rRNA的V3-V4基因片段PCR扩增,利用Illumina Miseq二代高通量测序技术进行测序,     

蜜蜂肠道微生物群落研究进展

蜜蜂是重要的农业传粉昆虫,对全球农业及生态维护有着不可替代的作用。然而近年来美国、欧洲等地出现蜂群大量消失的迹象,给农业经济带来严重威胁。近年来人们逐渐发现蜂肠道微生物与维持宿主健康之间存在着联系,蜜蜂属(Apis)和熊蜂属(Bombus)个体都带有简单、特异的肠道菌群,并且蜂肠道菌群与人类等其他动物具有诸多相似之处,例如其通过社会性接触稳定传播的特性。本综述介绍了近年来通过体外培养、高通量测序等技术对蜂肠道微生物与宿主关系的研究,特别是其简化的菌群结构、宿主特异性,及其对蜜蜂食物消化、营养供给、病虫抵抗等方面的作用,并探讨了未来基于我国特有蜂种研究的方向,及蜜蜂作为优良的社会性动物模式体系对未来人类营养健康研究的可行性。     

快速评价肠道微生物的qPCR方法的建立

【背景】近些年,16S rRNA基因测序与宏基因组分析常用于肠道微生物病原体检测。【目的】为了使检测不受限于高成本与耗时长的问题,基于荧光探针的实时荧光定量PCR(real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR, qPCR),建立一种评估人类肠道微生物群组成的平台用于检测肠道微生物丰度。【方法】从公共数据库筛选10种肠道中普遍存在的微生物分类群,使用20个粪便样本验证为10种靶标所设计的特异性引物与探针,最后通过比较qPCR方法和16SrRNA基因测序技术的检测结果来评估该平台的有效性。【结果】10对引物及其探针对靶标分类群具有特异性并且在HITdb数据库中靶向菌种的覆盖率超过70%;样本检测结果的变异系数(coefficient of variation,CV)小于10%,证明了该方法具有很高的稳定性;qPCR方法检测样本中物种的相对丰度与16S rRNA基因序列生物信息学分析结果大部分具有显著相关性(P<0.05)。【结论】本研究根据HITdb数据库设计的靶向微生物群的引物和探针检测到的粪便样本中微生物的相对丰度结果与16S rRNA基因测序结...     

美洲大蠊(Periplaneta americana)肠道微生物多样性分析

【目的】分析美洲大蠊(Periplaneta americana)肠道微生物群落的组成。【方法】以美洲大蠊肠道微生物基因组为模板,Bact-27F和Univ-1492R为引物,PCR扩增16S rRNA基因,连接pGEM-T载体,构建肠道微生物16S rRNA基因文库,并对肠道微生物的组成及多样性进行分析。【结果】美洲大蠊肠道微生物主要包括变形杆菌门(Proteobacteria,66.4%),拟杆菌门(Bacteroidetes,17.8%),厚壁菌门(Firmicutes,14.5%),梭杆菌门(Fusobacteria,0.6%),以及未分类微生物(unclassified bacteria,0.6%)。系统发育分析显示,15%的美洲大蠊肠道微生物16S rRNA基因序列与亲缘关系较近的杂食蟑螂肠道微生物的16S rRNA基因序列聚于一支;59%的美洲大蠊肠道微生物16S rRNA基因序列与不同食性动物肠道微生物的16S rRNA基因序列聚于一支。另一方面,18%的美洲大蠊肠道微生物16S rRNA基因序列与潜在的微生物致病菌一致性高于99%,说明美洲大蠊是一类潜在的致病菌携带者。【结论】美洲大蠊肠道微生物群落组成多样,宿主系统进化以及杂食性生活方式对其肠道微生物的组成有较大影响。     

基于线粒体基因的东方蜜蜂群体亚分化研究

【目的】进一步了解我国境内东方蜜蜂Apis cerana(Fabricius)群体的亚分化状况,为保护和合理利用这一宝贵的蜂种资源提供理论依据。【方法】采用公开的两对引物对中国境内19个地区的东方蜜蜂线粒体tRNAIle~ND2与16S rRNA基因的部分序列进行了扩增、测序,并与其他地区东方蜜蜂的相应序列进行了比对分析。【结果】扩增获得的tRNAIle~ND2基因的部分序列长度为471~474 bp,序列中共13个变异位点;16S rRNA基因的部分序列长度为581~585 bp,序列中共6个变异位点。ND2基因部分蛋白比对结果显示,仅山西沁源东方蜜蜂有一个位点发生变异。【结论】基于两基因部分序列所构建的系统发育树表明,海南东方蜜蜂明显区别于其他地区的东方蜜蜂;阿坝地区的东方蜜蜂可能属于高海拔地区的一种生态型,未支持其单独作为一个亚种的结论;吉林3个地区的东方蜜蜂之间亲缘关系较近,可能属于一个生态型;云南东方蜜蜂的变异比较丰富。     

分析方法对细菌群落16S rRNA基因扩增测序分析结果的影响

细菌16S rRNA基因扩增测序是当前环境微生物组学研究中应用最为广泛的方法之一。然而,测序序列最小分类单元的划分有多种方式,其对微生物多样性下游分析结果的影响还有待进一步探究。本研究通过提取5组环境样本(森林、农田、湿地土壤、湖泊沉积物和水体)的DNA进行16S rRNA基因扩增测序,对测序结果同时采用5种最小分类单元的划分方式(基于97%、98%、99%和100%序列相似性聚类的OTU以及基于DADA2算法得到的ASV)进行划分,比较分析最小分类单元划分方法对微生物群落多样性、组成、以及其与环境因子关联性分析造成的影响。结果表明,提高分类分辨率,能够获得更高的群落α多样性(Chao1和Shannon)和β多样性(P < 0.05),而相对于按序列相似性聚类的OTU,ASV方法会在一定程度上降低Chao1和PD指数。对于群落组成,分类单元的划分方式主要影响微生物组一些低丰度属(< 0.2%)的占比,而对较高的分类学水平(门水平)组成的影响较小。此外,冗余分析的结果表明,提高分类分辨率水平,能够使得环境因子对微生物群落能够获得更高的解释度,同时也会影响各环境因子对群落组成的...     

Dynamics of gut microbiome upon pollination in bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)

Bumblebees are crucial buzz pollinators of poricidal plants and commercial crops. The population of these crucial pollinators is globally declining. The need to focus on factors contributing to bee health such as gut microbiota is imperative. We evaluated the effect of source on gut microbiota composition in adult worker Bombus terrestris from two environments using multiplexed 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing on the Illumina MiSeq platform. Indoor reared adult worker bees were segregated into non-pollination (NP) and pollination (P) groups. The NP group bumblebees were raised and kept in the insectary for the entire experiment. P group bumblebees worked in a tomato-planted greenhouse for 15 days as pollinators. Our results show that members of Proteobacteria and Firmicutes were significantly different between the two groups. Bifidobacterium bombi (Actinobacteriota) and Candidatus_Schmidhempelia (Proteobacteria) were found to be important gut colonizer exclusive to NP and P group bees, respectively. DESeq2 analysis showed differentially abundant OTUs belonging to Lactobacillus spp. in each group. But for the differentially abundant detected OTUs, resolution till genus level was obtained which impairs our knowledge of the species associated with each group. Our data show that the gut microbiota between the groups differed when indoor- reared adult worker bees were exposed to different environments. The distinct gut microbiota between the two groups may also have been influenced by the different diets fed to bees upon segregation. Further studies can give important insights into the role of gut microbiota on bee health when indoor reared bees are employed for pollination.     

Characterization of DNA from three bee species

DNA was isolated from three species of bees: the common honey-bee (Apis mellifera), the Indian honey-bee (Apis cerana), and the leaf-cutting bee (Megachile rotundata). The guanine-cytosine distribution of the two honey-bee DNAs is relatively broad and skewed toward lower values; leaf-cutting bee DNA shows a narrow distribution. No distinct satellite bands are present in any of the species. Renaturation kinetics indicate that the genome sizes of the two honey-bee species are identical to one another and somewhat smaller than that of the leaf-cutting bee. About 89 per cent of the genome of all three species renatures slowly; this fraction presumably comprises the single-copy (unique) sequence portion of the genome.

Sufficient DNA was isolated from the dwarf honey-bee (Apis florea) to determine a guanine-cytosine distribution. Like the other honey-bee species, the distribution is relatively broad.     

Independent studies using deep sequencing resolve the same set of core bacterial species dominating gut communities of honey bees

Starting in 2003, numerous studies using culture-independent methodologies to characterize the gut microbiota of honey bees have retrieved a consistent and distinctive set of eight bacterial species, based on near identity of the 16S rRNA gene sequences. A recent study [Mattila HR, Rios D, Walker-Sperling VE, Roeselers G, Newton ILG (2012) Characterization of the active microbiotas associated with honey bees reveals healthier and broader communities when colonies are genetically diverse. PLoS ONE 7(3): e32962], using pyrosequencing of the V1-V2 hypervariable region of the 16S rRNA gene, reported finding entirely novel bacterial species in honey bee guts, and used taxonomic assignments from these reads to predict metabolic activities based on known metabolisms of cultivable species. To better understand this discrepancy, we analyzed the Mattila et al. pyrotag dataset. In contrast to the conclusions of Mattila et al., we found that the large majority of pyrotag sequences belonged to clusters for which representative sequences were identical to sequences from previously identified core species of the bee microbiota. On average, they represent 95% of the bacteria in each worker bee in the Mattila et al. dataset, a slightly lower value than that found in other studies. Some colonies contain small proportions of other bacteria, mostly species of Enterobacteriaceae. Reanalysis of the Mattila et al. dataset also did not support a relationship between abundances of Bifidobacterium and of putative pathogens or a significant difference in gut communities between colonies from queens that were singly or multiply mated. Additionally, consistent with previous studies, the dataset supports the occurrence of considerable strain variation within core species, even within single colonies. The roles of these bacteria within bees, or the implications of the strain variation, are not yet clear.     

Gut microbiota composition is associated with environmental landscape in honey bees

There is growing recognition that the gut microbial community regulates a wide variety of important functions in its animal hosts, including host health. However, the complex interactions between gut microbes and environment are still unclear. Honey bees are ecologically and economically important pollinators that host a core gut microbial community that is thought to be constant across populations. Here, we examined whether the composition of the gut microbial community of honey bees is affected by the environmental landscape the bees are exposed to. We placed honey bee colonies reared under identical conditions in two main landscape types for 6 weeks: either oilseed rape farmland or agricultural farmland distant to fields of flowering oilseed rape. The gut bacterial communities of adult bees from the colonies were then characterized and compared based on amplicon sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. While previous studies have delineated a characteristic core set of bacteria inhabiting the honey bee gut, our results suggest that the broad environment that bees are exposed to has some influence on the relative abundance of some members of that microbial community. This includes known dominant taxa thought to have functions in nutrition and health. Our results provide evidence for an influence of landscape exposure on honey bee microbial community and highlight the potential effect of exposure to different environmental parameters, such as forage type and neonicotinoid pesticides, on key honey bee gut bacteria. This work emphasizes the complexity of the relationship between the host, its gut bacteria, and the environment and identifies target microbial taxa for functional analyses.     

猴头菌粉与5-氨基水杨酸联用抑制小鼠急性溃疡性结肠炎并提高肠道共生菌Parabacteroides distasonis丰度

猴头菌Hericium erinaceus是一种药食同源真菌,广泛应用于治疗胃肠道疾病,可采用液态发酵技术规模化量产获得菌丝体粉。本研究旨在分析猴头发酵菌粉（HE,300mg/kg/d）与5-氨基水杨酸（5-aminosalicylic acid,5-ASA,150mg/kg/d）联用对葡聚糖硫酸钠（dextran sodium sulfate,DSS）诱导的小鼠结肠炎的治疗作用。HE和5-ASA能够减轻小鼠急性溃疡性结肠炎症状,包括减轻体重的降低率和疾病活动指数评分（DAI）。HE和5-ASA联用可以显著抑制小鼠结肠组织炎症,通过降低肿瘤坏死因子-α（Tnf-α）和白细胞介素-β（Il-β）基因的表达。此外,利用16S rRNA基因测序技术对小鼠盲肠微生物群落组成及结构进行分析。HE与5-ASA联用可以重塑肠道微生态环境,并显著提高狄氏副拟杆菌Parabacteroides distasonis相对丰度。人体粪便体外发酵结果证实HE与5-ASA可以增加P. distasonis。综上,HE与5-ASA联用可有效抑制小鼠结肠炎症水平,并调节肠道微生物,可能是通过增加P. distasonis起作用。     

蜜蜂肠道菌群定殖研究进展

肠道菌群在其宿主健康中发挥着各种各样的重要功能。蜜蜂是高度社会化的昆虫,其肠道菌群与大多数昆虫明显不同,由兼性厌氧和微好氧的细菌组成,具有高度保守性和专门的核心肠道微生物群。近年来的研究表明,蜜蜂肠道微生物群在代谢、免疫功能、生长发育以及保护机体免受病原体侵袭等方面起着重要作用,并已证实肠道微生物在蜜蜂健康和疾病中起着重要作用,肠道微生物群的破坏对蜜蜂健康会产生不利影响。本文综述了蜜蜂肠道菌群的特征及菌群定殖研究进展,介绍了蜜蜂的日龄、群体、季节等对蜜蜂肠道菌群定殖的影响,探讨了宿主的功能和新陈代谢对肠道菌群的影响。     

Specificity between Lactobacilli and Hymenopteran Hosts Is the Exception Rather than the Rule

Lactobacilli (Lactobacillales: Lactobacillaceae) are well known for their roles in food fermentation, as probiotics, and in human health, but they can also be dominant members of the microbiota of some species of Hymenoptera (ants, bees, and wasps). Honey bees and bumble bees associate with host-specific lactobacilli, and some evidence suggests that these lactobacilli are important for bee health. Social transmission helps maintain associations between these bees and their respective microbiota. To determine whether lactobacilli associated with social hymenopteran hosts are generally host specific, we gathered publicly available Lactobacillus 16S rRNA gene sequences, along with Lactobacillus sequences from 454 pyrosequencing surveys of six other hymenopteran species (three sweat bees and three ants). We determined the comparative secondary structural models of 16S rRNA, which allowed us to accurately align the entire 16S rRNA gene, including fast-evolving regions. BLAST searches and maximum-likelihood phylogenetic reconstructions confirmed that honey and bumble bees have host-specific Lactobacillus associates. Regardless of colony size or within-colony oral sharing of food (trophallaxis), sweat bees and ants associate with lactobacilli that are closely related to those found in vertebrate hosts or in diverse environments. Why honey and bumble bees associate with host-specific lactobacilli while other social Hymenoptera do not remains an open question. Lactobacilli are known to inhibit the growth of other microbes and can be beneficial whether they are coevolved with their host or are recruited by the host from environmental sources through mechanisms of partner choice.     

Establishment of characteristic gut bacteria during development of the honeybee worker

Previous surveys have shown that adult honeybee (Apis mellifera) workers harbor a characteristic gut microbiota that may play a significant role in bee health. For three major phylotypes within this microbiota, we have characterized distributions and abundances across the life cycle and among gut organs. These distinctive phylotypes, called Beta, Firm-5, and Gamma-1 (BFG), were assayed using quantitative PCR, fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) microscopy, and the experimental manipulation of inoculation routes within developing bees. Adult workers (9 to 30 days posteclosion) contained a large BFG microbiota with a characteristic distribution among gut organs. The crop and midgut were nearly devoid of these phylotypes, while the ileum and rectum together contained more than 95% of the total BFG microbiota. The ileum contained a stratified community in which the Beta and Gamma-1 phylotypes dominated, filling the longitudinal folds of this organ. Deep sequencing of 16S rRNA genes showed clear differences among communities in midgut, ileum, and rectum. In contrast with older workers, larvae and newly emerged workers contain few or no bacteria, and their major food source, bee bread, lacks most characteristic phylotypes. In experiments aimed at determining the route of inoculation, newly emerged workers (NEWs) sometimes acquired the typical phylotypes through contact with older workers, contact with the hive, and emergence from the brood cell; however, transmission was patchy in these assays. Our results outline a colonization pattern for the characteristic phylotypes through A. mellifera ontogeny. We propose the names "Candidatus Snodgrassella alvi" and "Candidatus Gilliamella apicola" for the Beta and Gamma-1 phylotypes, respectively.     

The bumble bee microbiome increases survival of bees exposed to selenate toxicity

Bumble bees are important and widespread insect pollinators who face many environmental challenges. For example, bees are exposed to the metalloid selenate when foraging on pollen and nectar from plants growing in contaminated soils. As it has been shown that the microbiome of animals reduces metalloid toxicity, we assayed the ability of the bee microbiome to increase survivorship against selenate challenge. We exposed uninoculated or microbiota-inoculated Bombus impatiens workers to a field-realistic dose of 0.75 mg l⁻¹ selenate and found that microbiota-inoculated bees survive slightly but significantly longer than uninoculated bees. Using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, we found that selenate exposure altered gut microbial community composition and relative abundance of specific core bacteria. We also grew two core bumble bee microbes – Snodgrassella alvi and Lactobacillus bombicola – in selenate-spiked media and found that these bacteria grew in the tested concentrations of 0.001–10 mg l⁻¹ selenate. Furthermore, the genomes of these microbes harbour genes involved in selenate detoxification. The bumble bee microbiome slightly increases survivorship when the host is exposed to selenate, but the specific mechanisms and colony-level benefits under natural settings require further study.     

Development of Beauveria bassiana dry formulation for vectoring by honey bees Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae) to the flowers of crops for pest control

Using bee pollinators as a means for the dissemination of microbial control agents, such as Beauveria bassiana, against insect pests of agricultural crops is a novel and interesting approach to biological control. In four laboratory trials, one in Canada and three in Jordan, factors affecting the acquisition of B. bassiana by honey bees were evaluated using hive-mounted inoculum dispensers. The numbers of conidia carried by bees emerging from the dispensers differed according to the type of carrier used. Bees that passed through corn flour acquired more inoculum than did those that walked through wheat flour, durum semolina, corn meal, potato starch, potato flakes, oat flour or barley flour. The numbers of conidia acquired by the bees increased with decreasing particle size and moisture content of the carrier, and with increasing density of B. bassiana conidia in the formulation. Time required for a bee to pass through the dispenser did not significantly affect the acquisition of conidia. This study indicated that honeybees (Apis mellifera carnica) have a great potential for vectoring B. bassiana in crop systems. It also opens more avenues for studies on bee delivery of other microbial biological control agents.