Stochastic block models reveal a robust nested pattern in healthy human gut microbiomes.

ABSTRACT: A key question in human gut microbiome research is what are the robust structural patterns underlying its taxonomic composition. Herein, we use whole metagenomic datasets from healthy human guts to show that such robust patterns do exist, albeit not in the conventional enterotype sense. We first introduce the concept of mixed-membership enterotypes using a network inference approach based on stochastic block models. We find that gut microbiomes across a group of people (hosts) display a nested structure, which has been observed in a number of ecological systems. This finding led us to designate distinct ecological roles to both microbes and hosts: generalists and specialists. Specifically, generalist hosts have microbiomes with most microbial species, while specialist hosts only have gener

SUBMITTER: Cobo-Lopez S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9896942 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature