1. |
- Bahram, Mohammad, et al.
(author)
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Structure and function of the global topsoil microbiome
- 2018
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In: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 560:7717, s. 233-7
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Soils harbour some of the most diverse microbiomes on Earth and are essential for both nutrient cycling and carbon storage. To understand soil functioning, it is necessary to model the global distribution patterns and functional gene repertoires of soil microorganisms, as well as the biotic and environmental associations between the diversity and structure of both bacterial and fungal soil communities(1-4). Here we show, by leveraging metagenomics and metabarcoding of global topsoil samples (189 sites, 7,560 subsamples), that bacterial, but not fungal, genetic diversity is highest in temperate habitats and that microbial gene composition varies more strongly with environmental variables than with geographic distance. We demonstrate that fungi and bacteria show global niche differentiation that is associated with contrasting diversity responses to precipitation and soil pH. Furthermore, we provide evidence for strong bacterial-fungal antagonism, inferred from antibiotic-resistance genes, in topsoil and ocean habitats, indicating the substantial role of biotic interactions in shaping microbial communities. Our results suggest that both competition and environmental filtering affect the abundance, composition and encoded gene functions of bacterial and fungal communities, indicating that the relative contributions of these microorganisms to global nutrient cycling varies spatially.
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2. |
- Abreu, A., et al.
(author)
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Priorities for ocean microbiome research
- 2022
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In: Nature Microbiology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2058-5276. ; 7:7, s. 937-947
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Studying the ocean microbiome can inform international policies related to ocean governance, tackling climate change, ocean acidification and pollution, and can help promote achievement of multiple Sustainable Development Goals. Microbial communities have essential roles in ocean ecology and planetary health. Microbes participate in nutrient cycles, remove huge quantities of carbon dioxide from the air and support ocean food webs. The taxonomic and functional diversity of the global ocean microbiome has been revealed by technological advances in sampling, DNA sequencing and bioinformatics. A better understanding of the ocean microbiome could underpin strategies to address environmental and societal challenges, including achievement of multiple Sustainable Development Goals way beyond SDG 14 'life below water'. We propose a set of priorities for understanding and protecting the ocean microbiome, which include delineating interactions between microbiota, sustainably applying resources from oceanic microorganisms and creating policy- and funder-friendly ocean education resources, and discuss how to achieve these ambitious goals.
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3. |
- Li, S. S., et al.
(author)
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Durable coexistence of donor and recipient strains after fecal microbiota transplantation
- 2016
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In: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 352:6285, s. 586-589
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) has shown efficacy in treating recurrent Clostridium difficile infection and is increasingly being applied to other gastrointestinal disorders, yet the fate of native and introduced microbial strains remains largely unknown. To quantify the extent of donor microbiota colonization, we monitored strain populations in fecal samples from a recent FMT study on metabolic syndrome patients using single-nucleotide variants in metagenomes. We found extensive coexistence of donor and recipient strains, persisting 3 months after treatment. Colonization success was greater for conspecific strains than for new species, the latter falling within fluctuation levels observed in healthy individuals over a similar time frame. Furthermore, same-donor recipients displayed varying degrees of microbiota transfer, indicating individual patterns of microbiome resistance and donor-recipient compatibilities.
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4. |
- Costea, P. I., et al.
(author)
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Enterotypes in the landscape of gut microbial community composition
- 2018
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In: Nature Microbiology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2058-5276. ; 3:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Population stratification is a useful approach for a better understanding of complex biological problems in human health and wellbeing. The proposal that such stratification applies to the human gut microbiome, in the form of distinct community composition types termed enterotypes, has been met with both excitement and controversy. In view of accumulated data and re-analyses since the original work, we revisit the concept of enterotypes, discuss different methods of dividing up the landscape of possible microbiome configurations, and put these concepts into functional, ecological and medical contexts. As enterotypes are of use in describing the gut microbial community landscape and may become relevant in clinical practice, we aim to reconcile differing views and encourage a balanced application of the concept.
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5. |
- Bedarf, J. R., et al.
(author)
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Functional implications of microbial and viral gut metagenome changes in early stage L-DOPA-naive Parkinson's disease patients
- 2017
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In: Genome Medicine. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1756-994X. ; 9
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Parkinson's disease (PD) presently is conceptualized as a protein aggregation disease in which pathology involves both the enteric and the central nervous system, possibly spreading from one to another via the vagus nerves. As gastrointestinal dysfunction often precedes or parallels motor symptoms, the enteric system with its vast diversity of microorganisms may be involved in PD pathogenesis. Alterations in the enteric microbial taxonomic level of L-DOPA-naive PD patients might also serve as a biomarker.Methods: We performed metagenomic shotgun analyses and compared the fecal microbiomes of 31 early stage, L-DOPA-naive PD patients to 28 age-matched controls.Results: We found increased Verrucomicrobiaceae (Akkermansia muciniphila) and unclassified Firmicutes, whereas Prevotellaceae (Prevotella copri) and Erysipelotrichaceae (Eubacterium biforme) were markedly lowered in PD samples. The observed differences could reliably separate PD from control with a ROC-AUC of 0.84. Functional analyses of the metagenomes revealed differences in microbiota metabolism in PD involving the beta-glucuronate and tryptophan metabolism. While the abundances of prophages and plasmids did not differ between PD and controls, total virus abundance was decreased in PD participants. Based on our analyses, the intake of either a MAO inhibitor, amantadine, or a dopamine agonist (which in summary relates to 90% of PD patients) had no overall influence on taxa abundance or microbial functions.Conclusions: Our data revealed differences of colonic microbiota and of microbiota metabolism between PD patients and controls at an unprecedented detail not achievable through 16S sequencing. The findings point to a yet unappreciated aspect of PD, possibly involving the intestinal barrier function and immune function in PD patients. The influence of the parkinsonian medication should be further investigated in the future in larger cohorts.
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6. |
- Jaric, I, et al.
(author)
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The rearing environment persistently modulates mouse phenotypes from the molecular to the behavioural level
- 2022
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In: PLoS biology. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1545-7885. ; 20:10, s. e3001837-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The phenotype of an organism results from its genotype and the influence of the environment throughout development. Even when using animals of the same genotype, independent studies may test animals of different phenotypes, resulting in poor replicability due to genotype-by-environment interactions. Thus, genetically defined strains of mice may respond differently to experimental treatments depending on their rearing environment. However, the extent of such phenotypic plasticity and its implications for the replicability of research findings have remained unknown. Here, we examined the extent to which common environmental differences between animal facilities modulate the phenotype of genetically homogeneous (inbred) mice. We conducted a comprehensive multicentre study, whereby inbred C57BL/6J mice from a single breeding cohort were allocated to and reared in 5 different animal facilities throughout early life and adolescence, before being transported to a single test laboratory. We found persistent effects of the rearing facility on the composition and heterogeneity of the gut microbial community. These effects were paralleled by persistent differences in body weight and in the behavioural phenotype of the mice. Furthermore, we show that environmental variation among animal facilities is strong enough to influence epigenetic patterns in neurons at the level of chromatin organisation. We detected changes in chromatin organisation in the regulatory regions of genes involved in nucleosome assembly, neuronal differentiation, synaptic plasticity, and regulation of behaviour. Our findings demonstrate that common environmental differences between animal facilities may produce facility-specific phenotypes, from the molecular to the behavioural level. Furthermore, they highlight an important limitation of inferences from single-laboratory studies and thus argue that study designs should take environmental background into account to increase the robustness and replicability of findings.
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7. |
- Pedersen, Helle Krogh, et al.
(author)
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Human gut microbes impact host serum metabolome and insulin sensitivity
- 2016
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In: Nature. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 535:7612, s. 376-381
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Insulin resistance is a forerunner state of ischaemic cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. Here we show how the human gut microbiome impacts the serum metabolome and associates with insulin resistance in 277 non-diabetic Danish individuals. The serum metabolome of insulin-resistant individuals is characterized by increased levels of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), which correlate with a gut microbiome that has an enriched biosynthetic potential for BCAAs and is deprived of genes encoding bacterial inward transporters for these amino acids. Prevotella copri and Bacteroides vulgatus are identified as the main species driving the association between biosynthesis of BCAAs and insulin resistance, and in mice we demonstrate that P. copri can induce insulin resistance, aggravate glucose intolerance and augment circulating levels of BCAAs. Our findings suggest that microbial targets may have the potential to diminish insulin resistance and reduce the incidence of common metabolic and cardiovascular disorders.
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8. |
- Wirbel, Jakob, et al.
(author)
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Meta-analysis of fecal metagenomes reveals global microbial signatures that are specific for colorectal cancer
- 2019
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In: Nature Medicine. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1078-8956 .- 1546-170X. ; 25:4, s. 679-689
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Association studies have linked microbiome alterations with many human diseases. However, they have not always reported consistent results, thereby necessitating cross-study comparisons. Here, a meta-analysis of eight geographically and technically diverse fecal shotgun metagenomic studies of colorectal cancer (CRC, n = 768), which was controlled for several confounders, identified a core set of 29 species significantly enriched in CRC metagenomes (false discovery rate (FDR) < 1 × 10 −5 ). CRC signatures derived from single studies maintained their accuracy in other studies. By training on multiple studies, we improved detection accuracy and disease specificity for CRC. Functional analysis of CRC metagenomes revealed enriched protein and mucin catabolism genes and depleted carbohydrate degradation genes. Moreover, we inferred elevated production of secondary bile acids from CRC metagenomes, suggesting a metabolic link between cancer-associated gut microbes and a fat- and meat-rich diet. Through extensive validations, this meta-analysis firmly establishes globally generalizable, predictive taxonomic and functional microbiome CRC signatures as a basis for future diagnostics.
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