Project description:Gut microbiome research is rapidly moving towards the functional characterization of the microbiota by means of shotgun meta-omics. Here, we selected a cohort of healthy subjects from an indigenous and monitored Sardinian population to analyze their gut microbiota using both shotgun metagenomics and shotgun metaproteomics. We found a considerable divergence between genetic potential and functional activity of the human healthy gut microbiota, in spite of a quite comparable taxonomic structure revealed by the two approaches. Investigation of inter-individual variability of taxonomic features revealed Bacteroides and Akkermansia as remarkably conserved and variable in abundance within the population, respectively. Firmicutes-driven butyrogenesis (mainly due to Faecalibacterium spp.) was shown to be the functional activity with the higher expression rate and the lower inter-individual variability in the study cohort, highlighting the key importance of the biosynthesis of this microbial by-product for the gut homeostasis. The taxon-specific contribution to functional activities and metabolic tasks was also examined, giving insights into the peculiar role of several gut microbiota members in carbohydrate metabolism (including polysaccharide degradation, glycan transport, glycolysis and short-chain fatty acid production). In conclusion, our results provide useful indications regarding the main functions actively exerted by the gut microbiota members of a healthy human cohort, and support metaproteomics as a valuable approach to investigate the functional role of the gut microbiota in health and disease.
Project description:Gut microbiota were assessed in 540 colonoscopy-screened adults by 16S rRNA gene sequencing of stool samples. Investigators compared gut microbiota diversity, overall composition, and normalized taxon abundance among these groups.
Project description:A phylogenetic microarray targeting 66 families described in the human gut microbiota has been developped aud used to monitor the gut microbiota's structure and diversity. The microarray format provided by Agilent and used in this study is 8x15K. A study with a total of 4 chips was realized.
Project description:To compare the similarities and differences in species diversity of the gut microbiota between the patients with melasma and healthy subjects. The feces were collected for 16S rRNA sequencing analysis of the gut microbiota.
Project description:In this study we investigated whether gut microbiota profile of Italian healthy volunteers could differ based on their geaographical origin. To this purpose, fecal samples were collected from 31 healthy individuals living in 3 different italian regions (Lombardy, North; Lazio, Center; Apulia, South) and their respective microbiota profiles were analyzed employing 16S metagenomic sequencing method. This study identifies differences in the gut microbiota content and richness among individuals with the same ethnicity coming from three different Italian regions.