Yang Sun1, Tao Zuo2, Chun Pan Cheung3, Wenxi Gu1, Yating Wan3, Fen Zhang3, Nan Chen3, Hui Zhan3, Yun Kit Yeoh4, Junkun Niu1, Yan Du5, Fengrui Zhang1, Yunling Wen1, Jun Yu3, Joseph J Y Sung6, Paul K S Chan4, Francis K L Chan3, Kunhua Wang7, Siew C Ng8, Yinglei Miao9. 1. Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Yunnan Institute of Digestive Diseases, Kunming, Yunnan, China. 2. Center for Gut microbiota research, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; State Key Laboratory of Digestive Diseases, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. 3. Center for Gut microbiota research, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; State Key Laboratory of Digestive Diseases, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. 4. Center for Gut microbiota research, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; Department of Microbiology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. 5. Department of Clinical Laboratory, The First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan, China. 6. State Key Laboratory of Digestive Diseases, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. 7. National Health Commission Key Laboratory of Drug Addiction Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan, China. Electronic address: kunhuawang1@163.com. 8. Center for Gut microbiota research, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; State Key Laboratory of Digestive Diseases, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. Electronic address: siewchienng@cuhk.edu.hk. 9. Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Yunnan Institute of Digestive Diseases, Kunming, Yunnan, China. Electronic address: myldu@sina.com.
Abstract
BACKGROUND & AIMS: Beyond bacteria, the human gastrointestinal tract is host to a vast diversity of fungi, collectively known as the gut mycobiome. Little is known of the impact of geography, ethnicity, and urbanization on the gut mycobiome at a large population level. We aim to delineate the variation of human gut mycobiome and its association with host factors, environmental factors, and diets. METHODS: Using shotgun metagenomic sequencing, we profiled and compared the fecal mycobiome of 942 healthy individuals across different geographic regions in China (Hong Kong and Yunnan), spanning 6 ethnicities: Han, Zang, Bai, Hani, Dai, and Miao (including both urban and rural residents of each ethnicity). In parallel to fecal sampling, we collected participant metadata (environmental exposure, bowel habits, anthropometrics, and medication), diet, and clinical blood measurement results (a total of 118 variables) and investigated their impact on the gut mycobiome variation in humans. RESULTS: The human gut mycobiome was highly variable across populations. Urbanization-related factors had the strongest impact on gut mycobiome variation, followed by geography, dietary habit, and ethnicity. The Hong Kong population (highly urbanized) had a significantly lower fungal richness compared with Yunnan population. Saccharomyces cerevisiae was highly enriched in urban compared with rural populations and showed significant inverse correlations with liver pathology-associated blood parameters, including aspartate transaminase, alanine transaminase, gamma-glutamyltransferase, and direct bilirubin. Candida dubliniensis, which was decreased in urban relative to rural populations, showed correlations with host metabolism-related parameters in blood, including a positive correlation with fasting high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels and a negative correlation with fasting glucose levels. The fungal-blood parameter correlations were highly geography- and ethnicity-specific. Food choices had differential influences on gut mycobiome and bacterial microbiome, where taxa from the same genus tended to be coregulated by food and thereby cobloom. Ethnicity-specific fungal signatures were associated with distinct habitual foods in each ethnic group. CONCLUSIONS: Our data highlight, for the first time to our knowledge, that geography, urbanization, ethnicity, and habitual diet play an important role in shaping the gut mycobiome composition. Gut fungal configurations in combination with population characteristics (such as residing region, ethnicity, diet, lifestyle) influence host metabolism and health.
BACKGROUND & AIMS: Beyond bacteria, the human gastrointestinal tract is host to a vast diversity of fungi, collectively known as the gut mycobiome. Little is known of the impact of geography, ethnicity, and urbanization on the gut mycobiome at a large population level. We aim to delineate the variation of human gut mycobiome and its association with host factors, environmental factors, and diets. METHODS: Using shotgun metagenomic sequencing, we profiled and compared the fecal mycobiome of 942 healthy individuals across different geographic regions in China (Hong Kong and Yunnan), spanning 6 ethnicities: Han, Zang, Bai, Hani, Dai, and Miao (including both urban and rural residents of each ethnicity). In parallel to fecal sampling, we collected participant metadata (environmental exposure, bowel habits, anthropometrics, and medication), diet, and clinical blood measurement results (a total of 118 variables) and investigated their impact on the gut mycobiome variation in humans. RESULTS: The human gut mycobiome was highly variable across populations. Urbanization-related factors had the strongest impact on gut mycobiome variation, followed by geography, dietary habit, and ethnicity. The Hong Kong population (highly urbanized) had a significantly lower fungal richness compared with Yunnan population. Saccharomyces cerevisiae was highly enriched in urban compared with rural populations and showed significant inverse correlations with liver pathology-associated blood parameters, including aspartate transaminase, alanine transaminase, gamma-glutamyltransferase, and direct bilirubin. Candida dubliniensis, which was decreased in urban relative to rural populations, showed correlations with host metabolism-related parameters in blood, including a positive correlation with fasting high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels and a negative correlation with fasting glucose levels. The fungal-blood parameter correlations were highly geography- and ethnicity-specific. Food choices had differential influences on gut mycobiome and bacterial microbiome, where taxa from the same genus tended to be coregulated by food and thereby cobloom. Ethnicity-specific fungal signatures were associated with distinct habitual foods in each ethnic group. CONCLUSIONS: Our data highlight, for the first time to our knowledge, that geography, urbanization, ethnicity, and habitual diet play an important role in shaping the gut mycobiome composition. Gut fungal configurations in combination with population characteristics (such as residing region, ethnicity, diet, lifestyle) influence host metabolism and health.
Authors: Yun Kit Yeoh; Yang Sun; Lawrence Yuk Ting Ip; Lan Wang; Francis K L Chan; Yinglei Miao; Siew C Ng Journal: Sci Rep Date: 2022-05-31 Impact factor: 4.996
Authors: Juan de Dios Caballero; Rafael Cantón; Manuel Ponce-Alonso; Marta María García-Clemente; Elia Gómez G de la Pedrosa; José Luis López-Campos; Luis Máiz; Rosa Del Campo; Miguel Ángel Martínez-García Journal: Microorganisms Date: 2022-04-13