Project description:Bifidobacteria are among the earliest colonizers of the human gut and are widely used as probiotics for their health-promoting properties. However, individual responses to probiotic supplementation may vary with strain type(s), microbiota composition, diet, or lifestyle conditions, highlighting the need for strain-level insight into bifidobacterial carbohydrate metabolism. Here, we systematically reconstructed 68 pathways involved in the utilization of mono-, di-, oligo-, and polysaccharides by analyzing the distribution of 589 curated metabolic functional roles (catabolic enzymes, transporters, transcriptional regulators) in 3083 non-redundant cultured Bifidobacterium isolates and metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) of human origin. Our analysis uncovered extensive inter- and intraspecies heterogeneity, including a distinct clade within the Bifidobacterium longum species capable of metabolizing starch. We also identified isolates of Bangladeshi origin that harbor unique gene clusters implicated in the breakdown of xyloglucan and human milk oligosaccharides. Thirty-eight predicted carbohydrate utilization phenotypes were experimentally validated in 30 geographically diverse Bifidobacterium isolates in vitro. Our large-scale genomic compendium expands the knowledge of bifidobacterial carbohydrate metabolism and can inform the rational design of probiotic and synbiotic formulations tailored to strain-specific nutrient preferences.
Project description:The secretion of Extracellular Vesicles ((EVs) is a common process in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells for intercellular communication, survival, and pathogenesis. Previous studies have illustrated the presence of EVs in supernatants from pure cultures of bacteria, including Gram-positive and Gram-negative glycan-degrading gut commensals. However, the composition of vesicles formed in complex microbial communities has not been clearly defined. In a recent paper, we reported that wood-derived complex β-mannan, which shares structural similarity with conventional dietary fibers, can be used to modulate the porcine gut microbiota composition and activity. In this paper, we investigated the production, size, composition, and proteome of EVs secreted by the pig fecal microbiota after 24 h enrichment on complex β-mannan. Using transmission electron microscopy and nanoparticle tracking analysis, we identified EVs with an average size of 105 nm. We utilized mass spectrometry-based metaproteomic profiling of EV proteins against a database of 355 metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) from the porcine colon and thereby identified 303 proteins, of which 55% were only detected in the EVs isolated from the β-mannan culture. Most of the proteins extracted from the EVs isolated from the culture grown on β-mannan mapped to two MAGs, MAG53 and MAG272, belonging to the orders Clostridiales and Bacilli, respectively. Furthermore, the MAG with the third-most-detected proteins was MAG 343 belonging to the order Enterobacteriales. The most abundant proteins detected in the β-mannan proteome were involved in translation, energy production, amino acid and carbohydrate transport, as well as metabolism. Overall, our results demonstrate the release of EVs in a complex microbial community whereby the protein content of the EVs reflects the response of specific microbes to the available carbohydrate source.
Project description:Dietary intake of fruits and vegetables (FV) has been inversely associated with lower risk of ulcerative colitis. A pig model was used to evaluate the impact of feeding FV on the host response to dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis. Methods: Six-week-old pigs were fed a grower diet alone or supplemented with lyophilized FV equivalent to the half (half-FV) or full (full-FV) daily levels recommended for humans by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA). Pigs were fed a 1) grower diet alone (negative control), 2) grower diet and orally treated with 4% DSS for 10 days to induce colitis (positive control), 3) half-FV diet treated with 4% DSS or 4) full-FV diet treated with 4% DSS. Pigs were monitored for the development of clinical signs of colitis. Proximal colon (PC) contents and mucosa (PCM) were collected for gut metagenome, tissue transcriptome and histopathological analysis. Results: Pigs fed the full-FV diet did not exhibit diarrhea, showed less fecal occult blood (FOB), PCM crypt hyperplasia but with no differential expressed genes (DEG) or changes in PC microbiome diversity (p < 0.05). Pigs within the half-FV group exhibited increased group FOB and DEG associated with tissue remodeling, crypt and goblet cell hyperplasia in the PCM and no changes in PC microbiome diversity and two pigs exhibiting diarrhea (p < 0.05). Pigs within the DSS positive control group exhibited a reduced DEG involved with intestinal immune response and PC microbiome diversity with altered metagenome, increased group PCM erosion and FOB with persistent diarrhea in one pig (p < 0.05) Conclusions: Overall, our results showed that pigs fed a three-week full-FV supplemented diet, were resistant to DSS-induced colitis with a differential dose-dependent protective effect on host intestinal tissue and gut metagenome when exposed to an inflammatory challenge.
Project description:A time-series alteration in fecal microbiota was linked to the emergence of intraepithelial bacteria and a unique transcriptome profile in the mouse colon during IBD development.
Project description:Analysis of breast cancer survivors' gut microbiota after lifestyle intervention, during the COVID-19 lockdown, by 16S sequencing of fecal samples.