Search

Background To investigate the causality between metformin and gut microbiome in the treatment of type 2 diabetes (T2D). Methods This study was conducted on individuals with newly diagnosed and treatment-naive T2D. We used 16s rRNA sequencing to understand the effect of metformin on the composition and diversity of the gut microbiota. We also compared the differences in relative abundances of gut microbiome at the genus level in treatment-naive T2D patients before and after metformin treatment for 2 months and used Spearman rank correlation coefficient analysis of genus abundance in relation to blood glucose and related factors. Results Metformin significantly reduced blood glucose and levels of the related factors in treatment-naive individuals with T2D after 2 months of treatment. 16s rRNA sequencing showed that metformin treatment altered the composition and diversity of the gut microbiome. Differences in relative abundances at the genus level among groups revealed that Megamonas and Klebsiella in T2D groups were significantly higher compared with those in the control group. Treatment with metformin caused a significant reduction in the abundances of Megamonas and Klebsiella. Spearman rank correlation coefficient analysis showed a significant positive correlation between Megamonas and blood glucose, HbA1c, GSP, and ALT. In Klebsiella, a significant positive correlation between HbA1c and ALT was found. Conclusions Metformin reduces blood glucose in T2D by interaction with different gut bacteria, possibly Megamonas and Klebsiella pneumoniae.

Background As a Chinese traditional flavor condiment, Pixian Douban (PXDB) is produced using a traditional open fermentation process. In this study, an experimental fermentation of PXDB was conducted at 40 °C for 90 days in a closed system, which has not been applied to PXDB production. The flavor, microbial community and correlations of the samples in the closed system were compared with those in the traditional fermentation. Results The content of organic acids and free amino acids in the closed fermentation of constant temperature (CFCT) achieved the standards of product quality, although they were lower than those in the traditional fermentation. Of the 140 detected aroma components, 98 were shared in the two fermentation processes. Enterobacter, Bacteroides and Megamonas were the core microbial genera related to 26 flavor components in the traditional fermentation, while Pantoea was the core microbial genus related to 18 flavor components in CFCT. The CFCT has its own unique advantages over traditional fermentation in forming aromas. It produced a greater impact on the succession of fungi than those of bacteria after changing traditional fermentation to CFCT. The influence of microorganisms on the formation of flavor components was relatively more balanced in CFCT, while the changed fermentation process impacted greatly on the functions of Zygosaccharomomyces and Pichia but little on those of Sphingomonas, Megamonas and Parabacteroides. Conclusion The study indicated that it was feasible to ferment PXDB in the closed system, and provides a basis to realize controllable PXDB production. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.

Background Accumulating evidence infer that gut microbiome-host relations are key mediators or modulators driving the observed sexual dimorphism in some disease onset and progression. To date, the sex-differences of gut microbiota at different pubertal status have not been reported. Objective To determine the characteristics of gut microbiota of both genders at different pubertal status. Methods Gut microbiota was analyzed in 89 Chinese participants aged 5–15 years. Participants were divided into pre-puberty and puberty groups for both male and female. The composition of gut microbiota was investigated by 16S rRNA-based metagenomics. Ecological representations of microbial communities were computed. The prediction of metagenomic functional content from 16S rRNA gene surveys was conducted. Results There were 49 males (9.76 ± 2.15 years) and 40 females (9.74 ± 1.63 years); 21 males and 26 females were at puberty. At genus level, Alistipes, Megamonas, Oscillospira and Parabacteroides were more prevalent in girls than in boys (p Dorea, Megamonas, Bilophila, Parabacteroides and Phascolarctobacterium as microbial markers for pubertal subjects. The predicted metabolic profiles differ in both pubertal and pre-pubertal groups between genders. Conclusion This cross-sectional study revealed that sex differences in the gut microbiota composition and predicted metabolic profiles exist before puberty, which become more significant at puberty. The identification of novel puberty bacterial markers may disclose a potential effects of gender-related microbiota profiles on puberty onset.

Objective Metformin modifies the gut microbiome in type 2 diabetes and gastrointestinal tolerance to metformin could be mediated by the gut microbiome. Methods We enrolled 35 patients with type 2 diabetes not receiving treatment with metformin due to suspected gastrointestinal intolerance. Metformin was reintroduced at 425 mg, increasing 425 mg every two weeks until reaching 1700 mg per day. According to the occurrence of metformin-related gastrointestinal symptoms, patients were classified into three groups: early intolerance, non-tolerant, and tolerant. Gut microbiota was profiled with 16 S rRNA. This sequencing aimed to determine the differences in the baseline gut microbiota in all groups and prospectively in the tolerant and non-tolerant groups. Results The classification resulted in 15 early intolerant, 10 tolerant, and 10 non-tolerant subjects. Early tolerance was characterized by a higher abundance of Subdoligranulum; while Veillonella and Serratia were higher in the non-tolerant group. The tolerant group showed enrichment of Megamonas, Megamonas rupellensis, and Phascolarctobacterium spp; Ruminococcus gnavus was lower in the longitudinal analysis. At the end point Prevotellaceae, Prevotella stercorea, Megamonas funiformis, Bacteroides xylanisolvens, and Blautia producta had a higher relative abundance in the tolerant group compared to the non-tolerant group. Subdoligranulum, Ruminococcus torques_1, Phascolarctobacterium faecium, and Eubacterium were higher in the non-tolerant group. The PICRUSt analysis showed a lower activity of the amino acid biosynthesis pathways and a higher sugar degradation pathway in the intolerant groups. Conclusions Gut microbiota of subjects with gastrointestinal intolerance depicted taxonomic and functional differences compared to tolerant patients, and this changed differently after metformin administration

Background: People from Latin America (LA) and the Hispanic/Latino community living in the United States (LUS) exhibit a high prevalence of diabetes (DM) and obesity (OB). The Gut Microbiome (GM) is capable of altering energy regulation and glucose metabolism, but for the expression of these diseases a combination of multiple factors such as ethnicity, genetic and nutritional factors are required. A systematic research was conducted to understand if the prevalence of OB and/or DM has an interaction with the GM in LA and LUS. Methods: Research was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, Scielo, Embase and Google Scholar for articles between 1990 and 2017. It was restricted to human studies published in English, Spanish, or Portuguese that applied genetic techniques to study the GM in LA or LUS and discussed the association with OB and/or DM. Results: Different gut Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes relationships in several populations from LA influenced by geography, diet and lifestyles interacted with OB. Healthy people from the Mexico and US border had the same imbalance between Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes found in OB or Type 2 DM. High levels of Bacteroides and a reduced proportion of Prevotella, Megamonas, and Acidaminococcus were found in newly diagnosed type 1 DM. Once the patient was treated with insulin, an increase of Prevotella levels was seen. Inverse Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes relationship was reported before the development of Type 1 DM. Conclusion: An important relation between GM and OB and/or DM exists in LA and LUS. Further elucidation of pathophysiologic mechanisms is required.

The early-life microbiota triggers life-long effects on physiological functions and health disorders. Previous studies in adult twins or animal models have revealed associations between host genetics and the harmonious microbiota. However, such associations may be obscured by the fact that each intra-pair of twins will continually encounter various environmental factors as they grow up. Here, we collected the meconium samples from nineteen dizygotic pairs (DZ, n = 38) and nine monozygotic pairs (MZ, n = 18) with cesarean delivery, and 16S rRNA gene sequencing was performed to profile the microbiome at birth. Diversity analysis showed that alpha diversity was not significantly different between two groups, whereas beta diversity of MZ twins was significantly lower than that of either DZ twins or unrelated individuals (i.e., randomly selected individual pairs of non-twinship) (p < 0.05). Two groups had very similar microbial classifications but different relative abundances of certain taxa including more Firmicutes (p = 0.05, Wilcoxon test) at the phylum level and lower abundances of five genera (p < 0.05) in DZ group compared to MZ group, including Rheinheimera, Proteus, SMB53, Sphingobium, and Megamonas. Co-occurrence analysis in each group showed slightly more complicated microbial interactions in DZ than MZ twins, although 22 shared bacterial genera co-existed in two groups, with both Rheinheimera and Megamonas having different centralities in their respective co-occurrence networks. Mean intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) were also significantly higher for MZ (0.312) compared to DZ twins (0.138) (p < 0.05). The predicted microbial gene functions related to carbohydrate were higher in DZ group, whereas folding, sorting, degradation, cell motility pathways and energy metabolism were markedly over-represented in the microbiota of MZ group. In summary, our study uncovered that microbial diversity and components of the meconium microbiome between DZ and MZ twins were partially consistent with that in singleton neonates by cesarean delivery, but several distinctions related to the heritability supported genetic contributions to intestinal microbiome in early life.

The pros and cons of monosodium glutamate (MSG), a common food additive, have been long disputed, whereas the effects of MSG consumption on human intestinal microbiome have not been fully understood. In the present study, metagenomics sequencing was performed to evaluate the effects of MSG on human intestinal microbiota (n = 12) during a four-week experiment. It was observed that MSG consumption did not significantly alter the intestinal microbial community structure and functional features of the subjects. Although some bacteria including Faecalibacterium, Megamonas, Blautia and Collinsella tended to change, there was no significant difference in the alteration of all genera. At the functional level, the microbial functions were rich, mainly distributed in membrane transport, amino acid metabolism and carbohydrate metabolism, but there was no significant difference between samples obtained at different times. Additionally, it was discovered that the impact of the individuals on intestinal microbiota was greater than that of MSG.

The gut microbiome in humans is associated with geography, diet, lifestyles and so on, but its relationship with some isolated populations is not clear. We used the 16sRNA technique to sequence the fecal microbiome in the Chinese isolated Yao population and compared it with the major minority Zhuang and the major ethnic Han populations living in the same rural area. Information about diet frequency and health status and routine serum measurements were collected. The unweighted UniFrac principal coordinates analysis showed significant structural differences in fecal microbiota among the three ethnic groups. Statistically significant differences were observed in the community richness estimator (chaos) and the diversity estimator (Shannon) among the three groups. At the genus level, the fecal samples of the isolated Yao population presented the lowest relative abundance of the Megamonas genus, which was potentially related to the high frequency of bean consumption in the diet. Two enterotypes were identified in the overall fecal microbiota in the three populations. In the isolated Yao population, a higher Bacteroides abundance was observed, but the Prevotella abundance decreased with increased alcohol consumption.

// Yu-Ling Sun 1, 2 , Wen-Qi Li 1, 2 , Peng-Xu Ding 3 , Zhi-Wei Wang 3 , Chang-Hua Wei 4 , Xiu-Xian Ma 1, 2 , Rui-Fang Zhang 5 , Yan Wu 6 , Lin Zhou 7 , Ruo-Peng Liang 1, 2 , Yan-Peng Zhang 1, 2 , Yi-Pu Zhao 1, 2 , Rong-Tao Zhu 1, 2 and Jian Li 1, 2 1 Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China 2 Institute of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Diseases, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China 3 Department of Radioactive Intervention, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China 4 Department of Ultrasound Diagnosis, The People’s Affiliated Hospital, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China 5 Department of Ultrasound Diagnosis, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China 6 Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China 7 Department of Digestive Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China Correspondence to: Yu-Ling Sun, email: ylsun@zzu.edu.cn Keywords: Budd–Chiari syndrome; gut microbiota; prognosis Received: August 28, 2017 Accepted: November 14, 2017 Published: December 14, 2017 ABSTRACT Gut microbiota is associated with liver diseases. However, gut microbial characteristics of Budd-Chiari syndrome (B-CS) have not been reported. Here, by MiSeq sequencing, gut microbial alterations were characterized among 37 health controls, 20 liver cirrhosis (LC) patients, 31 initial B-CS patients (B-CS group), 33 stability patients after BCS treatment (stability group) and 23 recurrent patients after BCS treatment (recurrence group). Gut microbial diversity was increased in B-CS versus LC. Bacterial community of B-CS clustered with controls but separated from LC. Operational taxonomic units (OTUs) 421, 502 (Clostridium IV) and 141 (Megasphaera) were unique to B-CS. Genera Escherichia/Shigella and Clostridium XI were decreased in B-CS versus controls. Moreover, nine genera, mainly including Bacteroides and Megamonas, were enriched in B-CS versus LC. Notably, Megamonas could distinguish B-CS from LC with areas under the curve (AUCs) of 0.7904. Microbial function prediction revealed that L-amino acid transport system activity was decreased in B-CS versus both LC and controls. Furthermore, OTUs 27 (Clostridium XI), 137 (Clostridium XIVb) and 40 (Bacteroides) were associated with B-CS stability. Importantly, genus Clostridium XI was enriched in stability group versus both recurrence group and B-CS group. Also, PRPP glutamine biosynthesis was reduced in stability group versus recurrence group, but was enriched in stability group versus B-CS group. In conclusion, specific microbial alterations associated with diagnosis and prognosis were detected in B-CS patients. Correction of gut microbial alterations may be a potential strategy for B-CS prevention and treatment.

Background Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection-reduced liver functions are associated with intestinal microbial community dissimilarity. This study aimed to investigate the microbial community dissimilarity in patients with different grades of HBV-related liver cirrhosis. Results Serum endotoxin was increased with Child–Pugh (CP) class (A, B, and C). Veillonellaceae and Lachnospiraceae families were reduced in patients compared with controls. Megamonas and Veillonella genus was reduced and increased in patients compared with controls, respectively, especially in CPB and CPC groups. Correlation analysis showed that endotoxin content was significantly correlated with alcohol consumption (95% CI 0.100, 0.493), CP class (95% CI 0.289, 0.687) and Lachnospiraceae family level (95% CI − 0.539, − 0.122). Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio was correlated with the level of Lachnospiraceae family (95% CI 0.013, 0.481), Veillonellaceae family (95% CI 0.284, 0.696), Megamonas genus (95% CI 0.101, 0.518) and Veillonella genus (95% CI 0.134, 0.545). All aforementioned bacteria were independent risk or protective factors for hepatitis. Alcohol consumption changed microbial community. Conclusions Our study demonstrated that elevated Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio, reduced Megamonas genus level and increased Veillonella genus level were indicators for HBV-related liver cirrhosis. Alcohol-related pathogenesis was associated with the changed microbial community.

Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease, and the pathogenesis is still quite challenging. Emerging evidence has shown that the brain–gut–microbiota axis served a pivotal role in neurological diseases; however, researches utilizing metagenomic sequencing to analyze the alteration in gut microbiota of MSA patients were quite rare. Here, we carried out metagenomic sequencing in feces of 15 MSA patients and 15 healthy controls, to characterize the alterations in gut microbial composition and function of MSA patients in mainland China. The results showed that gut microbial community of MSA patients was significantly different from healthy controls, characterized by increased genus Akkermansia and species Roseburia hominis, Akkermansia muciniphila, Alistipes onderdonkii, Streptococcus parasanguinis, and Staphylococcus xylosus, while decreased genera Megamonas, Bifidobacterium, Blautia, and Aggregatibacter and species Bacteroides coprocola, Megamonas funiformis, Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum, Clostridium nexile, Bacteroides plebeius, and Granulicatella adiacens. Further, functional analysis based on the KEGG database revealed aberrant functional pathways in fecal microbiome of MSA patients. In conclusion, our findings provided evidence for dysbiosis in gut microbiota of Chinese MSA cohorts and helped develop new testable hypotheses on pathophysiology of MSA.

The present study aimed to determine the differences in gut microbiota between patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and healthy controls (HC) and search for better microbial biomarkers associated with CKD. The 16S rRNA gene sequencing approach was used to investigate the differences in gut microbiota between the CKD and HC groups. The study found that 12 phylotypes were overrepresented in the CKD group and 19 in the HC group at the genus level. Furthermore, genera Lachnospira and Ruminococcus_gnavus performed the best in differentiating between HC and CKD populations. In addition, this novel study found that the genera Holdemanella, Megamonas, Prevotella 2, Dielma, and Scardovia were associated with the progression of CKD and hemodialysis. In conclusion, the composition of gut microbiota was different in CKD populations compared with healthy populations, and Lachnospira and R._gnavus were better microbial biomarkers. In addition, five phylotypes, including Holdemanella, Megamonas, Prevotella2, Dielma, and Scardovia, served as an indicator of the progression of CKD and hemodialysis. However, large‐scale prospective studies should be performed to identify the reliability of the set of these phylotypes as biomarkers.

Tibetan Chickens should have unique gastrointestinal microbiota because of their particular habitats. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the cecal microbiota of Tibetan Chickens from five typical high‐altitude regions of China. Lohmann egg‐laying hens (LMs) and Daheng broiler chickens (DHs) were chosen as controls. The cecal bacterial populations of Tibetan Chickens were surveyed by high‐throughput sequencing (HTS) of the bacterial 16S rRNA hypervariable region V3‐V4 (16S rRNAV3‐V4) combined with community‐fingerprinting analysis of the 16S rRNA gene based on polymerase chain reaction‐denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR‐DGGE). The results revealed that the majority of cecal microbiota differed between the Tibetan Chicken and LM/DH. The microbial communities in the cecum were composed of 16 phyla, 28 classes, 36 orders, 57 families, 101 genera, and 189 species. Represented phyla were Bacteroidetes (>47%), Firmicutes (>18.8%), Spirochaetae (>0.3%), and Proteobacteria (>0.4%). Bacteroides and the RC9 gut group were the two most abundant genera. There were relatively more Christensenellaceae, Subdoligranulum, Spirochaeta, and Treponema in Tibetan Chickens, whereas there were more Phascolarctobacterium, Faecalibacterium, Megamonas, and Desulfovibrio in LMs and DHs. The cecal microbiota of Tibetan Chicken have slightly diverged due to exposure to different geographic environments. Differences in the intestinal bacterial communities of Tibetan Chicken and LM/DH were noted.

The gut microbiota plays important roles in its host. However, how each microbiota member contributes to the behavior of the whole population is not known. In this study, we therefore determined protein expression in the cecal microbiota in chickens of selected ages and in 7-day-old chickens inoculated with different cecal extracts on the day of hatching. Campylobacter , Helicobacter , Mucispirillum , and Megamonas overgrew in the ceca of 7-day-old chickens inoculated with cecal extracts from donor hens. Firmicutes were characterized by ABC and phosphotransferase system (PTS) transporters, extensive acyl coenzyme A (acyl-CoA) metabolism, and expression of l -fucose isomerase. Anaerostipes , Anaerotruncus , Pseudoflavonifractor , Dorea , Blautia , and Subdoligranulum expressed spore proteins. Firmicutes ( Faecalibacterium , Butyrivibrio , Megasphaera , Subdoligranulum , Oscillibacter , Anaerostipes , and Anaerotruncus ) expressed enzymes required for butyrate production. Megamonas , Phascolarctobacterium , and Blautia (exceptions from the phylum Firmicutes ) and all Bacteroidetes expressed enzymes for propionate production pathways. Representatives of Bacteroidetes also expressed xylose isomerase, enzymes required for polysaccharide degradation, and ExbBD, TonB, and outer membrane receptors likely to be involved in oligosaccharide transport. Based on our data, Anaerostipes , Anaerotruncus , and Subdoligranulum might be optimal probiotic strains, since these represent spore-forming butyrate producers. However, certain care should be taken during microbiota transplantation because the microbiota may behave differently in the intestinal tract of a recipient depending on how well the existing communities are established.

Background and aims Although most risk factors for cardiac valve calcification (VC) are similar to those for coronary artery disease (CAD), they differ regarding lesions and clinical symptoms. Recently, increasing evidence suggests that intestinal bacteria play essential roles in cardiovascular disease (CVD). It is plausible that the gut microbiota is linked to the occurrence of different CVDs under similar risk factors. Thus, we aimed to explore the gut microbiomes in patients with VC or CAD and determine their underlying connections. Methods We collected samples from 119 subjects and performed 16S rRNA gene sequencing to analyze the gut microbiomes in VC and CAD patients and in control volunteers. Results The gut microbiomes of VC and CAD patients were significantly different in terms of beta-diversity. Bacteria from Veillonella dispar, Bacteroides plebeius and Fusobacterium were enriched in the VC group, while members of Collinsella aerofaciens, Megamonas, Enterococcus, Megasphaera, Dorea and Blautia were decreased. According to the association with dyslipidemia, seven operational taxonomic units (OTUs), including Parabacteroides distasonis, Megamonas, Fusobacterium, Bacteroides sp., Bacteroides plebeius, Lactobacillus and Prevotella copri, were regarded as potential pathogens for CVDs. Additionally, Prevotella copri might be a keystone of CVDs, especially in VC patients, while Collinsella aerofaciens is a possible keystone of CAD, based on the multi-correlations of these bacteria with other OTUs in microbial communities. Conclusions Patients with VC and CAD suffer from different gut microbial dysbiosis. The gut microbiomes are associated with the clinical characteristics in these diseases and might be potential therapeutic targets.

Preservation of indigenous gastrointestinal microbiota is critical for successful captive breeding of endangered wild animals, yet its biology is poorly understood. Here, we compared the cecal microbial composition of wild living Japanese rock ptarmigans (Lagopus muta japonica) in different locations of Japanese mountains, and the dominant cecal microbial structure of wild Japanese rock ptarmigans is elucidated. Coriobacteraceae and Lachnospraceae were the two dominant bacterial families in all samples analyzed. At the genus level, 10 genera Olsenella, Actinomyces, Megasphaera, Slackia, Cloacibacillus, Bifidobacterium,Escherichia,Dialister, Megamonas, and Bilophila were dominant. These results reveal the high level of coexistence of lactic acid bacteria (Olsenella and Bifidobacterium) and lactate-utilizing bacteria (Megasphaera). This coexistence should be taken into account for the successful breeding of captive Japanese rock ptarmigans in the national conservation program.

Background: Emerging evidence suggests that human gut microbiota plays a critical role in maintaining physiological homeostasis, and gut dysbiosis is involved directly or indirectly in cardiovascular diseases including hypertension. Aim: The aim of the present study was to investigate whether there were sex-based compositional differences in gut microbiota of patients with hypertension. Methods: Fecal samples were collected from male and female hypertensive patients, and healthy individuals from Xi’an, Shaanxi province of China. Touchdown PCR and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) with primers specifically targeting V3 region of 16S rRNA, and real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) were performed to characterize all the samples. High-throughput sequencing of the V3–V4 regions was performed on Illumina HiSeq 2500. Results: Diversity and richness indices for the gut microbiome were compared among the four groups. The relative abundance of Firmicutes was found increased in hypertensive groups (both female and male patients) while that of Bacteroidetes was decreased in male hypertensive patients only, as compared to the healthy male subjects. The most differentially abundant bacterial taxa belonged to the genera Prevotella and Megasphaera in female hypertensive patients and Megamonas in male hypertensive patients. The female and male hypertensive patients also showed different dominant phylotypes. Conclusion: These results demonstrated that there were sex-based differences in gut microbial composition of patients with hypertension. Our findings indicate Prevotella, Megasphaera and Megamonas as the potential sex-specific biomarkers of hypertension, and need to be further evaluated.

Accompanying human beings since the Paleolithic period, dogs has been recently regarded as a reliable model for the study of the gut microbiome connections with health and disease. In order to provide some glimpses on the connections between the gut microbiome layout and host behavior, we profiled the phylogenetic composition and structure of the canine gut microbiome of dogs with aggressive (n = 11), phobic (n = 13) and normal behavior (n = 18). Hormones’ determination was made through Radio Immuno-Assay (RIA), and next generation sequencing of the V3–V4 gene region of the bacterial 16S rRNA was employed to determine gut microbiome composition. Our results did not evidence any significant differences of hormonal levels between the three groups. According to our findings, aggressive behavioral disorder was found to be characterized by a peculiar gut microbiome structure, with high biodiversity and enrichment in generally subdominant bacterial genera (i.e. Catenibacterium and Megamonas). On the other hand, phobic dogs were enriched in Lactobacillus, a bacterial genus with known probiotic and psychobiotic properties. Although further studies are needed to validate our findings, our work supports the intriguing opportunity that different behavioral phenotypes in dogs may be associated with peculiar gut microbiome layouts, suggesting possible connections between the gut microbiome and the central nervous system and indicating the possible adoption of probiotic interventions aimed at restoring a balanced host-symbiont interplay for mitigating behavioral disorders., Biological sciences; Microbiology; Endocrinology; Veterinary medicine; Animal behavior; Microbiome, Behavioral disorders, Aggressive dogs, Phobic dogs, Hormones

We evaluated the effects of a tablet containing Bacillus natto and Lactobacillus acidophilus as probiotics supplemented with three stomachic herbs on human fecal microbiota. Six healthy subjects ingested 3 tablets, 3 times a day after meals for 10 days. Fecal samples were collected before and after the administration period, and 1 week post administration. As shown by the TGGE images, the density of the bands identified with Bifidobacterium increased in four cases. This increase was confirmed by real-time PCR. It was observed that the densities of the bands identified with Haemophilus decreased, Ruminococcus decreased, Clostridium colinum decreased, Acidaminococcus increased and Megamonas increased individually.

Human intestinal flora comprises thousands of bacterial species. Growth and composition of intestinal microbiota is dependent on various parameters, including immune mechanisms, dietary factors and intestinal motility. Patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) frequently display neurogenic bowel dysfunction due to the absence of central nervous system control over the gastrointestinal system. Considering the bowel dysfunction and altered colonic transit time in patients with SCI, we hypothesized the presence of a significant change in the composition of their gut microbiome. The objective of this study was to characterize the gut microbiota in adult SCI patients with different types of bowel dysfunction. We tested our hypothesis on 30 SCI patients (15 upper motor neuron [UMN] bowel syndrome, 15 lower motor neuron [LMN] bowel syndrome) and 10 healthy controls using the 16S rRNA sequencing. Gut microbial patterns were sampled from feces. Independent of study groups, gut microbiota of the participants were dominated by Blautia, Bifidobacterium, Faecalibacterium and Ruminococcus. When we compared all study groups, Roseburia, Pseudobutyrivibrio, Dialister, Marvinbryantia and Megamonas appeared as the genera that were statistically different between groups. In comparison to the healthy group, total bacterial counts of Pseudobutyrivibrio, Dialister and Megamonas genera were significantly lower in UMN bowel dysfunction group. The total bacterial count of Marvinbryantia genus was significantly lower in UMN bowel dysfunction group when compared to the LMN group. Total bacterial counts of Roseburia, Pseudobutyrivibrio and Megamonas genera were significantly lower in LMN bowel dysfunction group when compared to healthy groups. Our results demonstrate for the first time that butyrate-producing members are specifically reduced in SCI patients when compared to healthy subjects. The results of this study would be of interest since to our knowledge, microbiome-associated studies targeting SCI patients are non-existent and the results might help explain possible implications of gut microbiome in SCI. Copyright © 2016 Gungor et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Eighty-one stool samples from Taiwanese were collected for analysis of the association between the gut flora and obesity. The supervised analysis showed that the most, abundant genera of bacteria in normal samples (from people with a body mass index (BMI)≤24) wereBacteroides(27.7%),Prevotella(19.4%),Escherichia(12%),Phascolarctobacterium(3.9%), andEubacterium(3.5%). The most abundant genera of bacteria in case samples (with a BMI≥27) wereBacteroides(29%),Prevotella(21%),Escherichia(7.4%),Megamonas(5.1%), andPhascolarctobacterium(3.8%). A principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) demonstrated that normal samples were clustered more compactly than case samples. An unsupervised analysis demonstrated that bacterial communities in the gut were clustered into two main groups: N-like and OB-like groups. Remarkably, most normal samples (78%) were clustered in the N-like group, and most case samples (81%) were clustered in the OB-like group (Fisher’sP value=1.61E-07). The results showed that bacterial communities in the gut were highly associated with obesity. This is the first study in Taiwan to investigate the association between human gut flora and obesity, and the results provide new insights into the correlation of bacteria with the rising trend in obesity.

Chickens are major source of food and protein worldwide. Feed conversion and the health of chickens relies on the largely unexplored complex microbial community that inhabits the chicken gut, including the ceca. We have carried out deep microbial community profiling of the microbiota in twenty cecal samples via 16S rRNA gene sequences and an in-depth metagenomics analysis of a single cecal microbiota. We recovered 699 phylotypes, over half of which appear to represent previously unknown species. We obtained 648,251 environmental gene tags (EGTs), the majority of which represent new species. These were binned into over two-dozen draft genomes, which included Campylobacter jejuni and Helicobacter pullorum. We found numerous polysaccharide- and oligosaccharide-degrading enzymes encoding within the metagenome, some of which appeared to be part of polysaccharide utilization systems with genetic evidence for the co-ordination of polysaccharide degradation with sugar transport and utilization. The cecal metagenome encodes several fermentation pathways leading to the production of short-chain fatty acids, including some with novel features. We found a dozen uptake hydrogenases encoded in the metagenome and speculate that these provide major hydrogen sinks within this microbial community and might explain the high abundance of several genera within this microbiome, including Campylobacter, Helicobacter and Megamonas.

Megamonas hypermegaleis the sole species of the genusMegamonasincluded in the List of Prokaryotic Names with Standing in Nomenclature and in the databases of DDBJ, EBI/EMBL and NCBI/GenBank it is placed in the lineage ofBacteroidetes;Bacteroidetes(class); ‘Bacteroidales’;Bacteroidaceae;Megamonas. Phylogenetic analysis based on comparative 16S rRNA gene sequencing showed that this species clustered with species of the family ‘Acidaminococcaceae’ but not with those of theBacteroidaceae. The genusMegamonasshould be placed in the lineage ofFirmicutes;Clostridia;Clostridiales; ‘Acidaminococcaceae’;Megamonas.

Cellular fatty acid profiles were determined for species in 33 genera of anaerobic gram-negative bacilli and were confirmed to be a useful taxonomic tool. Most of the genera could be differentiated by visual inspection of their profiles. The three genus pairs that were most difficult to distinguish visually (Bacteroides and Prevotella, Pectinatus and Megamonas, and Serpulina and Bilophila) and the species of these genera were differentiated by the MIDI (Microbial ID, Inc.) identification system. Similarities in cellular fatty acid profiles may be correlated with similarities in other phenotypic characteristics, but more often there is no other obvious phenotypic relationship. Although medium components may not change the constituents detected or the ratios among the constituents detected for some species, identical medium changes may result in vast differences in the profiles obtained with other species. Thus, if a worker wishes to compare profiles of various taxa, it is essential that the same cultural and analytical conditions be used.

A total of 37 Bacteroides ureolyticus clinical isolates (mainly from the United Kingdom) comprising 18 nongonococcal urethritis-associated strains and 19 other strains, including the type strain (NCTC 10941T) and strains from abscesses, ulcers, and various other soft tissue lesions, and five reference strains of other Bacteroides, Fusobacterium, Megamonas, and Sebaldella species were characterized by one-dimensional sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of cellular proteins. The protein patterns, which contained 45 to 50 discrete bands, were highly reproducible and were used as the basis for a numerical analysis. Four clusters comprising 31 strains of B. ureolyticus were obtained at the 70% similarity level, and one of these was further divided to give two subclusters at the 82% similarity level. The analysis showed that the clusters obtained corresponded with three previously identified polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis types (I, II, and III) within the species, although two slightly different patterns within type I were detected. Evidence is presented for a new protein pattern (type IV) which was characteristic of NCTC 10941T and seven isolates. There was no clear-cut correlation between the pattern type and the clinical source of the isolates, except for the type Ib and type IV strains, which were nongonococcal urethritis-associated and wound isolates, respectively.

Summary Bacteroides hypermegas ( Harrison and Hansen ) differs to such an extent from the type species of Bacteroides, Bacteroides fragilis ( Veillon and Zuber ), that it cannot be retained in this genus. On the basis of morphological, biochemical and chemical criteria it is suggested that Bacteroides hypermegas be reclassified in a new genus, Megamonas , as Megamonas hypermegas ( Harrison and Hansen ) comb. nov.