Distinct composition and metabolic functions of human gut microbiota are associated with cachexia in lung cancer patients

Cachexia is associated with decreased survival in cancer patients and has a prevalence of up to 80%. The etiology of cachexia is poorly understood, and limited treatment options exist. Here, we investigated the role of the human gut microbiome in cachexia by integrating shotgun metagenomics and plasma metabolomics of 31 lung cancer patients. The cachexia group showed significant differences in the gut microbial composition, functional pathways of the metagenome, and the related plasma metabolites compared to non-cachectic patients. Branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), methylhistamine, and vitamins were significantly depleted in the plasma of cachexia patients, which was also reflected in the depletion of relevant gut microbiota functional pathways. The enrichment of BCAAs and 3-oxocholic acid in non-cachectic patients were positively correlated with gut microbial species Prevotella copri and Lactobacillus gasseri, respectively. Furthermore, the gut microbiota capacity for lipopolysaccharides biosynthesis was significantly enriched in cachectic patients. The involvement of the gut microbiome in cachexia was further observed in a high-performance machine learning model using solely gut microbial features. Our study demonstrates the links between cachectic host metabolism and specific gut microbial species and functions in a clinical setting, suggesting that the gut microbiota could have an influence on cachexia with possible therapeutic applications.Subject terms: Microbiome, Metagenomics, Next-generation sequencing, Metabolomics     

便秘型肠易激综合征患者肠道菌群变化特点及双歧杆菌四联活菌片的疗效观察

研究便秘型肠易激综合征（IBS-C）患者肠道菌群变化特点,并进一步分析双歧杆菌四联活菌片对其的干预效果。

选取2020年2月至2021年11月于我院消化内科就诊的162例IBS-C患者为研究组;选择同期113例健康体检者作为对照组。采用16S rDNA高通量测序法检测受试者肠道菌群的构成,分析菌群多样性,比较双歧杆菌四联活菌片干预前后IBS-C患者肠道菌群变化特点及便秘症状相关指标变化情况。

研究组患者肠道菌群Ace指数（P=0.001）、Chao指数（P＜0.001）、Shannon指数（P=0.020）、Sobs指数（P＜0.001）均显著低于对照组。在门水平上,研究组患者肠道厚壁菌门和变形菌门的丰度均显著高于对照组,而拟杆菌门丰度均显著低于对照组。双歧杆菌四联活菌片干预后,患者肠道厚壁菌门和变形菌门丰度均显著下降,拟杆菌门丰度显著提高。在属水平上,研究组患者肠道乳杆菌属和双歧杆菌属丰度均显著低于对照组。双歧杆菌四联活菌片干预后,患者肠道乳杆菌属、双歧杆菌属、粪杆菌属丰度均显著上升。干预后IBS-C患者的便秘症状积分（P＜0.001）、GIQLI评分（P＜0.001）、WC评分（P＜0.001）、PAC-QOL评分（P=0.005）均较干预前差异显著,排便次数也显著增加（P＜0.001）。

IBS-C患者肠道菌群显著紊乱,双歧杆菌四联活菌片能在一定程度上调节患者肠道菌群失衡,同时能够改善胃肠道功能,缓解便秘。

     

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.     

基于高通量测序的精神分裂症患者肠道菌群多样性

目的 探讨精神分裂症患者肠道菌群多样性变化。方法 收集16例精神分裂症患者（schizophrenia,Sch）与18例健康者（healthy donor,HD）的粪便样本,提取肠道菌群基因组,扩增16S rRNA基因,运用Illumina平台进行测序。对测序结果进行多样性和物种组成差异分析。结果 精神分裂症患者组肠道菌群在门、纲、目、科、属、种、分类操作单元（operational taxonomic units,OTUs）水平的群落种类数目少于健康对照组。Alpha多样性指标中患者组的Ace指数（226.58±31.67）、Chao1指数（222.29±34.45）和Shannon指数（2.66±0.69）明显低于健康对照组（293.63±56.07、302.2±57.99、3.59±0.36）,差异均有统计学意义（Ps<0.001）,而Simpson指数（0.20±0.17）明显高于健康对照组（0.07±0.03）,差异有统计学意义（P<0.01）;Beta多样性分析显示两组研究对象肠道菌群样本可被鉴别区分。精神分裂症患者组与健康对照组样本在门和属水平上肠道菌群组成和含量有差异,其中患者组拟杆菌门和软壁菌门占比明显低于健康组,差异有统计学意义（21.76% vs.27.05%,P=0.008;0.00% vs. 0.20%,P=0.033）,而放线菌门明显高于健康组（13.52% vs. 2.88%,P=0.020）,差异有统计学意义;患者组拟杆菌属和柔嫩梭菌属占比明显低于健康组（9.15% vs. 20.60%,P=0.031;3.29% vs. 9.58%,P=0.005）,差异有统计学意义,而双歧杆菌属、普雷沃菌属和巨单胞菌属明显高于健康组（10.89% vs.1.78%,P=0.025;10.88% vs.1.98%,P=0.046;10.78% vs.2.69%,P=0.026）,差异有统计学意义。结论 基于16S rRNA的高通量测序有助于分析精神分裂症患者肠道菌群多样性变化,为研究肠道菌群与精神分裂症的关系提供新的思路和理论依据。     

宏转录组测序分析老年抗生素相关性腹泻患者肠道菌群组成及耐药通路特点

为探究老年抗生素相关性腹泻(AAD)患者肠道菌群结构变化的特点以及与细菌耐药性之间的关联。

对来自华山医院老年科的6名老年AAD患者的肠道菌群进行宏转录组测序, 并以另5名相同饮食标准下接受抗生素治疗但未发生腹泻的患者作为对照, 深入分析老年AAD患者肠道菌群物种组成及耐药通路变化。

AAD组物种丰度和多样性均低于对照组, 且两组菌群组成在不同分类学水平上存在明显差异(P < 0.05)。KEGG比对结果显示, AAD组多条抗生素耐药通路的表达量均有显著上调, 包括与β-内酰胺类抗生素耐药相关的青霉素结合蛋白pbp1B、pbp5、金属β-内酰胺酶bla2, β-内酰胺酶基因表达调节因子ampR、ampC等, 与万古霉素耐药相关的VanX、VanB、VanW和VanH等。另外, mlaC、natB、znuC、tcyB、tcyC等53条ATP结合盒超家族(ABC转运蛋白)相关通路在AAD组中显著上调。

菌群结构变化、某些优势菌属的扩张、菌群失调相关的代谢变化以及抗生素耐药性等因素与老年人AAD有潜在联系。

     

Alterations and Mechanism of Gut Microbiota in Graves’ Disease and Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis

To explore the role of gut microbiota in Graves’ disease (GD) and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT). Seventy fecal samples were collected, including 27 patients with GD, 27 with HT, and 16 samples from healthy volunteers. Chemiluminescence was used to detect thyroid function and autoantibodies (FT3, FT4, TSH, TRAb, TGAb, and TPOAb); thyroid ultrasound and 16S sequencing were used to analyze the bacteria in fecal samples; KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) and COG (Clusters of Orthologous Groups) were used to analyze the functional prediction and pathogenesis. The overall structure of gut microbiota in the GD and HT groups was significantly different from the healthy control group. Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria contents were the highest in the HT group. Compared to the control group, the GD and HT groups had a higher abundance of Erysipelotrichia, Cyanobacteria, and Ruminococcus_2 and lower levels of Bacillaceae and Megamonas. Further analysis of KEGG found that the “ABC transporter” metabolic pathway was highly correlated with the occurrence of GD and HT. COG analysis showed that the GD and HT groups were enriched in carbohydrate transport and metabolism compared to the healthy control group but not in amino acid transport and metabolism. Our data suggested that Bacillus, Blautia, and Ornithinimicrobium could be used as potential markers to distinguish GD and HT from the healthy population and that “ABC transporter” metabolic pathway may be involved in the pathogenesis of GD and HT.     

心肌缺血再灌注手术改变炎症相关肠道菌群

目的 探讨心肌缺血再灌注损伤对大鼠肠道菌群结构特征的影响。 方法 18只雄性Sprague Dawley大鼠随机分为假手术组(n=7)和模型组(n=11),分别对大鼠冠状动脉左前降支进行结扎和再灌注。再灌注60 min后,通过TTC染色检测总梗死面积,H&E染色和免疫组织化学观察炎症细胞浸润情况、16S rRNA高通量测序分析心肌缺血前和再灌注后粪便中微生物的结构组成变化。 结果 与假手术组相比,模型组心肌梗死面积增加,心肌中炎症细胞浸润以及CD68阳性巨噬细胞明显增多,变形菌门(Proteobacteria)的相对丰度增加,厚壁菌门(Firmicutes)的相对丰度降低。 结论 心肌缺血再灌注损伤改变了肠道菌群的分布,这可能与促进了受损心脏的炎症细胞浸润有关。     

肠道菌群在应激诱发大鼠高血压中的作用

观察应激性高血压大鼠肠道菌群的变化,探索肠道菌群在应激性高血压发生中的作用。应激性高血压模型的制备:大鼠每天2次接受足底电刺激加噪声的应激,每次2 h,中间间隔4 h,共14 d。血压的测量:大鼠股动脉插管,Powerlab系统记录血压。伪无菌鼠的制备:在大鼠的饮用水中加入氨苄西林(1 g/L)、万古霉素(500 mg/L)、新霉素(1 g/L)和甲硝唑(1 g/L)4种抗生素,共持续4周。采用Illumina MiSeq测序技术,测定大鼠粪便中微生物16S rRNA V3-V4区序列,并对群落结构和多样性进行比较分析。慢性应激导致大鼠血压升高,心率加快,血清去甲肾上腺素浓度增加;α多样性分析显示应激大鼠肠道菌群丰富度和多样性下降,β多样性分析显示应激组大鼠肠道菌群物种组成变少,差异性变大;伪无菌鼠的肠道菌群物种单一,仅有少量的变形菌门。给予伪无菌鼠相同的慢性应激,不能引起大鼠血压升高、心率增快,血清去甲肾上腺素浓度未升高。应激引起大鼠肠道菌群紊乱,应激性高血压的发生可能依赖于肠道菌群的状态。     

Disruption of the Human Gut Microbiota following Norovirus Infection

The gut microbiota, the collection of all bacterial members in the intestinal tract, plays a key role in health. Disruption of the indigenous microbiota by a variety of stressors, including antibiotic therapy and intestinal infections, is associated with multiple health problems. We sought to determine if infection with Norovirus disrupts the gut microbiota. Barcoded pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA-encoding gene was used to characterize the stool microbiota in Norovirus-infected human patients (n = 38). While the microbiota in most infected patients (n = 31) resembled that seen in uninfected healthy controls, a minority of patients (n = 7) possessed a significantly altered microbiota characterized by reduced relative numbers of Bacteriodetes and a corresponding increase in Proteobacteria. In these patients, the increase in Proteobacteria was due to a single operational taxonomic unit (OTU) of Escherichia coli. We cultured E. coli from Norovirus-infected patients and characterized them using PCR-ribotyping and virulence factor analysis. Multiple ribotypes were encountered, but none possessed typical virulence factors commonly carried by enteropathogenic E. coli strains. Microbiota disruption and elevated Proteobacteria were not significantly correlated to patient age, gender, sampling time following illness onset, or overall gut inflammation. These results demonstrate that some patients have a disrupted microbiota following Norovirus infection, and therefore may be at elevated risk for long-term health complications.     

口服益生菌对根治性放疗宫颈癌患者放疗相关性腹泻及肠道菌群的影响

评价口服益生菌预防根治性放疗宫颈癌患者放疗相关性腹泻（RE）的有效性,并探讨益生菌对根治性放疗宫颈癌患者肠道菌群的影响。

选取2020年1月—2022年12月于广西医科大学附属肿瘤医院妇瘤科行根治性放化疗宫颈癌患者46例,随机分为口服益生菌组（OP组）和非口服益生菌组（NOP组）,每组各23例。采集两组放疗前后粪便标本,通过16S rDNA测序检测肠道菌群,分析肠道菌群多样性和组间的菌群差异。

OP组RE发生率为8.7%,NOP组RE发生率高达47.8%,两组差异具有统计学意义（P=0.009）。口服益生菌能够增加放疗病人肠道菌群丰富度,但不能逆转肠道菌群α−多样性下降（P=0.012）。放疗前后肠道菌群β−多样性差异不显著（P＞0.05）。物种丰度分析显示放疗后肠道菌群在门、科、属、种水平的组成均发生改变;特别是腹泻患者与非腹泻患者比较：放疗前惰性乳杆菌相对丰度较高,但在放疗后惰性乳杆菌相对丰度较低。

宫颈癌患者根治性放疗期间口服益生菌可有效预防放疗相关性腹泻的发生。放疗影响肠道菌群的组成,特别是显著降低肠道厌氧菌的相对丰度。

     

Comparative study on gut microbiota in three Anura frogs from a mountain stream

Composition and diversity in gut microbiota are impacted by a wide variety of factors. The similarity of gut microbiota in related or sympatric species has been gaining recent traction. Here, 16S rRNA gene sequencing technology was employed to study the gut microbiota of three sympatric frog species, namely Odorrana tormota, O. graminea, and Amolops wuyiensis. In these three frog species, the most abundant phylum was Proteobacteria, followed by Bacteroidetes, Verrucomicrobia, and Firmicutes. The most abundant family was Burkholderiaceae in three species. The most dominant genera were Burkholderia, Caballeronia, and Paraburkholderia with the highest relative abundance in O. tormota, O. graminea, and A. wuyiensis, respectively. No differences were observed in alpha diversity indexes among the three frog species. However, bacterial similarity of gut microbiota was significantly different between O. tormota and A. wuyiensis and between O. graminea and A. wuyiensis. Metabolism‐related gene function was predominantly enriched in the gut microbiota of the three evaluated frog species. From these findings, that the relative abundance of the gut microbiota and predicted gene functions differed in three species, we conclude that there were significant differences in the gut microbiota of the three species. Similar alpha diversity and interspecific bacterial similarity in the gut might be related to bacterial transmission among the three Anura frogs evaluated in this study.     

成年与未成年圈养林麝粪便菌群多样性的比较

本研究旨在解析林麝未成年组(n=10)和成年组(n=10)之间的菌群差异。收集林麝新鲜粪便,提取总DNA,利用带标签的通用引物扩增16S rRNA V3-V4区,使用Illumina Miseq 300PE测序平台对扩增产物进行Miseq双端测序,通过计算ACE和Shannon等多样性指数,以及微生物组成成分和距离聚类分析,揭示组成结构与差异。α多样性分析表明成年组微生物的多样性丰富度略高于未成年组,但不存在显著差异性(P>0.05)。未成年组和成年组均是厚壁菌门(Firmicutes)、拟杆菌门(Bacteroidetes)和变形菌门(Proteobacteria)所占的比例较高。成年组Proteobacteria比例明显高,而Firmicutes比例较低。LEfSe分析表明有12个显著差异的细菌分类。两组在Firmicutes门存在显著差异的细菌较少,而在Proteobacteria上存在显著差异的细菌较多。本研究证明在不同年龄阶段,微生物的丰富度和多样性不存在显著差异,细菌的组成成分也相同。但是在组成比例上存在差异性,间接反映了不同年龄阶段营养吸收的不同需求。     

Polydatin alleviates bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis and alters the gut microbiota in a mouse model

To investigate the effect and mechanism of polydatin on bleomycin (BLM)-induced pulmonary fibrosis in a mouse model. The lung fibrosis model was induced by BLM. The contents of TNF-α, LPS, IL-6 and IL-1β in lung tissue, intestine and serum were detected by ELISA. Gut microbiota diversity was detected by 16S rDNA sequencing; R language was used to analyse species composition, α-diversity, β-diversity, species differences and marker species. Mice were fed drinking water mixed with four antibiotics (ampicillin, neomycin, metronidazole, vancomycin; antibiotics, ABx) to build a mouse model of ABx-induced bacterial depletion; and faecal microbiota from different groups were transplanted into BLM-treated or untreated ABx mice. The histopathological changes and collagen I and α-SMA expression were determined. Polydatin effectively reduced the degree of fibrosis in a BLM-induced pulmonary fibrosis mouse model; BLM and/or polydatin affected the abundance of the dominant gut microbiota in mice. Moreover, faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) from polydatin-treated BLM mice effectively alleviated lung fibrosis in BLM-treated ABx mice compared with FMT from BLM mice. Polydatin can reduce fibrosis and inflammation in a BLM-induced mouse pulmonary fibrosis model. The alteration of gut microbiota by polydatin may be involved in the therapeutic effect.     

OSAS对冠心病患者的血糖和血脂水平的影响

目的:探讨阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停综合征(Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome,OSAS)对冠心病患者血糖和血脂的影响。方法:纳入我科住院的明确诊断冠心病患者共168人,根据呼吸暂停低通气指数(Apnea-hypopnea index,AHI)共分2组:冠心病组133例,冠心病合并OSAS组45例(轻度OSAS组16例;中度OSAS组18例,重度OSAS组12例)。对比分析冠心病组和冠心病合并OSAS组患者血脂及血糖水平及其相关性。结果:BMI、LDL、HDL在四组间差异有统计学意义(P0.05)。冠心病合并OSAS的BMI、LDL、HDL明显高于冠心病组,各组间BMI差异有统计学意义(P0.05)。FPG、HOMA-I、RHb A1、OX-LDL、AHI在冠心病组和冠心病合并轻度OSAS组之间差异无统计学意义(P0.05)。FPG、HOMA-I、RHb A1、OX-LDL、AHI在OSAS轻、中、重各组间差异有统计学意义(P0.05)。冠心病合并OSAS患者AHI和BMI、LDL、FPG、HOMA-I、OX-LDL呈正相关关系(P0.05)。结论:OSAS增加了冠心病患者血脂水平和糖尿病的风险,及机制可能与胰岛素抵抗和OX-LDL水平增高有关。     

Comparative metagenomics analysis reveals how the diet shapes the gut microbiota in several small mammals

The gut microbiomes of the host are large and complex communities, which helps to maintain homeostasis, improves digestive efficiency, and promotes the development of the immune system. The small mammals distributed in Sichuan Province are the most popular species for biodiversity research in Southwest China. However, the effects of different diets on the structure and function of the gut microbial community of these small mammals are poorly understood. In this study, whole‐metagenome shotgun sequencing has been used to analyze the composition and functional structures of the gut microbiota of seven small mammals in Laojunshan National Nature Reserve, Sichuan Province, China. Taxonomic classification revealed that the most abundant phyla in the gut of seven small mammals were Bacteroides, Proteobacteria, and Firmicutes. Moreover, Hafnia, Lactobacillus, and Yersinia were the most abundant genus in the gut microbiomes of these seven species. At the functional level, we annotated a series of KEGG functional pathways, six Cazy categories, and 46,163 AROs in the gut microbiomes of the seven species. Comparative analysis found that the difference in the gut microbiomes between the Soricidea and Muridae concentrated on the increase in the F/B (Firmicutes/Bacteroides) ratio in the Soricidea group, probably driven by the high‐fat and ‐calorie digestive requirements due to their insectivorous diet. The comparative functional profiling revealed that functions related to metabolism and carbohydrates were significantly more abundant in Muridae group, which may be attributed to their high carbohydrate digestion requirements caused by their herbivorous diet. These data suggested that different diets in the host may play an important role in shaping the gut microbiota, and lay the foundation for teasing apart the influences of heritable and environmental factors on the evolution of gut microbial communities.     

营养干预对肝硬化代偿期合并糖尿病患者肠道菌群的影响

探讨营养干预对肝硬化代偿期合并糖尿病患者肠道微生物的影响。

收集2022年9月—2023年9月本院收治的80名肝硬化代偿期合并糖尿病患者,随机分为对照组和观察组,每组40例。对照组使用常规降糖药物治疗,观察组在对照组基础上,进行营养干预,根据1.5 g/kg的体重剂量摄入乳清蛋白质粉,接受常规饮食咨询和营养建议。每4周收集空腹血清样本,在干预前和营养干预后12周收集粪便样本,使用全自动生化分析仪、ELISA法检测血清葡萄糖、总胆固醇、高密度脂蛋白（HDL-c）胆固醇和低密度脂蛋白胆固醇（LDL-c）胆固醇水平等临床参数。使用Illumina Nova Seq平台对粪便基因组DNA测序。

对照组患者12周后临床各项指标与基线比较,差异均无统计学意义（P＞0.05）。观察组患者营养干预后空腹血糖（t=2.862,P=0.005）、空腹胰岛素（t=5.926,P＜0.001）、HOMA-IR（t=2.680,P=0.009）、hs-CRP（t=3.386,P=0.001）、蛋白质氧化率（t=7.762,P=0.001）均显著降低,呼吸商显著增加（t=2.958,P=0.004）。营养干预后6个菌种的相对丰度发生了显著变化,分别属于厚壁菌门、拟杆菌门和变形菌门。属于拟杆菌属和梭菌目的菌种在营养干预后产生了显著的菌株基因组变化。基于HOMA-IR的相对改善,将观察组患者分为响应者（R）亚组和非响应者（NR）亚组。两个亚组之间肠道微生物群的动态变化差异有统计学意义（P=0.008）。

肠道微生物群在营养干预对肝硬化代偿期合并糖尿病患者胰岛素敏感性影响中发挥重要作用,可能有助于临床实施个体化生活方式干预。

     

基于性别二分类的青海天峻藏民肠道菌群差异分析

目的 对青海省天峻县的藏族牧民健康志愿者肠道菌群进行研究,探讨青海藏民肠道菌群结构及性别对肠道菌群组成的影响。方法 以28例藏族牧民志愿者的粪便样品作为研究对象,应用基于16S rDNA V3+V4可变区的高通量测序技术测定肠道菌群组成及核心菌群;通过db-RDA和菌群多样性分析,探索性别因素对肠道菌群结构的影响。结果 在门水平上,厚壁菌门和拟杆菌门是青海藏族志愿者的优势菌群。在属水平上,优势菌属是普氏菌属、Lachnospiracea_incertae_sedis、Faecalibacterium和拟杆菌属;特有优势菌属是Lachnospiracea_incertae_sedis。db-RDA结果显示性别因素对肠道微生物群结构有一定分离趋势,多样性结果进一步证实性别差异显著影响菌群结构。男性和女性存在12种差异菌群,包括普氏菌属、Acidaminobacter属等。结论 性别差异对青海藏民肠道菌群影响显著。     

Interspecific comparison of the fecal microbiota structure in three Arctic migratory bird species

The gut microbiota of birds is known to be characterized for different species, although it may change with feeding items. In this study, we compared the gut microbiota of birds with different feeding behaviors in the same habitat. We collected fecal samples from three Arctic species, snow buntings Plectrophenax nivalis, sanderlings Calidris alba, and pink‐footed geese Anser brachyrhynchus that are phylogenetically quite distant in different families to evaluate effects of diet on gut microbiota. Also, we characterized the prevalence of fecal bacteria using the Illumina MiSeq platform to sequence bacterial 16S rRNA genes. Our NMDS results showed that fecal bacteria of snow buntings and sanderlings were significantly distant from those of pink‐footed geese. Although all three birds were occupied by three bacterial phyla, Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Bacteroidetes, dominant taxa still varied among the species. Our bacterial sequences showed that snow buntings and sanderlings were dominated by Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes, while pink‐footed geese were dominated by Proteobacteria. In addition, the bacterial diversity in snow buntings and sanderlings was significantly higher than that in pink‐footed geese. Our results suggest that insectivorous feeding diet of snow buntings and sanderlings could be responsible for the similar bacterial communities between the two species despite the distant phylogenetic relationship. The distinctive bacterial community in pink‐footed geese was discussed to be related with their herbivorous diet.     

Types of fiber and gut microbiota composition and diversity among arab females

ObjectivesDietary fiber is recognized as an important nutrient for gut health. However, research on the relations of different types of fibers (soluble and insoluble) to the human microbiota health is limited. This study aimed to identify whether higher habitual intake of soluble and/or insoluble fiber have a different influence on the composition, diversity, and abundance of microbiota.MethodsWe examined the fecal microbial composition of 92 healthy females aged 18 and above using the novel shotgun metagenomics sequencing technique. The habitual fiber intake was determined using the Saudi food frequency questionnaire. Pearson’s correlation was used for the correlations between total, soluble, and insoluble fiber and gut microbiota. α- and β-diversities were applied to acquire the distinctions in the relative abundances of bacterial taxa.ResultsOur findings show that higher dietary fiber, particularly insoluble fiber, was significantly correlated with the abundances of Bacteroides_u_s, Bacteroides uniformis, and Lactobacillus acidophilus (r = 0.26, 0.29, 0.26, p-value < 0.05, respectively). Non-significant difference was noted in the microbial α-diversity and β-diversity in low and high soluble/insoluble dietary fiber.ConclusionsCurrent findings suggest that insoluble dietary-fiber intake is favorably correlated with the health of the human gut microbiota. However, further investigations are necessary to identify the effect of types of fiber on the specific species identified in this study.     

Alterations in the gut microbiota of patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), caused by infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), is associated with gastrointestinal disease, systemic immune activation and changes in the gut microbiota. Here, we aim to investigate the gut microbiota patterns of HIV‐infected individuals and HIV‐uninfected individuals in populations from South China. We enrolled 33 patients with HIV (14 participants treated with highly active antiretroviral therapy [HAART] for more than 3 months; the remaining 19 individuals had not received treatment) and 35 healthy controls (HC) for a cross‐sectional comparison of gut microbiota using stool samples. Gut microbial communities were profiled by sequencing the bacterial 16S rRNA genes. Dysbiosis was more common among patients with AIDS compared with healthy individuals. Dysbiosis was characterized by decreased α‐diversity, low mean counts of Bacteroidetes, Faecalibacterium, Prevotella, Bacteroides vulgatus, Dialister and Roseburia inulnivorans, and high mean counts of Proteobacteria, Enterococcus, Streptococcus, Lactobacillus, Lachnociostridium, Ruminococcus gnavus and Streptococcus vestibularis. Increased abundance of Bacilli was observed in homosexual patients. Proteobacteria were higher among heterosexual patients with HIV infections. Tenericutes were higher among patients with history of intravenous drug abuse. Restoration of gut microbiota diversity and a significant increase in abundance of Faecalibacterium, Blautia and Bacteroides were found in patients receiving HAART compared to those who did not receive. HIV infection‐associated dysbiosis is characterized by decreased levels of α‐diversity and Bacteroidetes, increased levels of Proteobacteria and the alterations of gut microbiota correlate with the route of HIV transmission. The imbalanced faecal microbiota of HIV infection is partially restored after therapy.