Dataset Information

The Effects of an Environmentally Relevant Level of Arsenic on the Gut Microbiome and Its Functional Metagenome.

ABSTRACT: Multiple environmental factors induce dysbiosis in the gut microbiome and cause a variety of human diseases. Previously, we have first demonstrated that arsenic alters the composition of the gut microbiome. However, the functional impact of arsenic on the gut microbiome has not been adequately assessed, particularly at environmentally relevant concentrations. In this study, we used 16S rRNA sequencing and metagenomics sequencing to investigate how exposure to 100?ppb arsenic for 13?weeks alters the composition and functional capacity of the gut microbiome in mice. Arsenic exposure altered the alpha and beta diversities as well as the composition profile of the gut microbiota. Metagenomics data revealed that the abundances of genes involved in carbohydrate metabolism, especially pyruvate fermentation, short-chain fatty acid synthesis, and starch utilization, and were significantly changed. Moreover, lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis genes, multiple stress response genes, and DNA repair genes were significantly increased in the gut microbiome of arsenic-exposed mice. The genes involved in the production or processing of multiple vitamins, including folic acid and vitamins B6, B12, and K2, were also enriched in arsenic-treated mice. In, addition, genes involved in multidrug resistance and conjugative transposon proteins were highly increased after treatment with arsenic. In conclusion, we demonstrate that arsenic exposure, at an environmentally relevant dose, not only perturbed the communal composition of the gut microbiome but also profoundly altered a variety of important bacterial functional pathways.

SUBMITTER: Chi L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5837326 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The Effects of an Environmentally Relevant Level of Arsenic on the Gut Microbiome and Its Functional Metagenome.

Chi Liang L Bian Xiaoming X Gao Bei B Tu Pengcheng P Ru Hongyu H Lu Kun K

Toxicological sciences : an official journal of the Society of Toxicology 20171201 2

Multiple environmental factors induce dysbiosis in the gut microbiome and cause a variety of human diseases. Previously, we have first demonstrated that arsenic alters the composition of the gut microbiome. However, the functional impact of arsenic on the gut microbiome has not been adequately assessed, particularly at environmentally relevant concentrations. In this study, we used 16S rRNA sequencing and metagenomics sequencing to investigate how exposure to 100 ppb arsenic for 13 weeks alters ...[more]

PMID: 28973555

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Project description:Extensive research shows that dietary variation and toxicant exposure impact the gut microbiome, yielding effects on host physiology. However, prior work has mostly considered such exposure-microbiome interactions through the lens of single-factor exposures. In practice, humans exposed to toxicants vary in their dietary nutritional status, and this variation may impact subsequent exposure of the gut microbiome. For example, chronic arsenic exposure affects 200 million people globally and is often comorbid with zinc deficiency. Zinc deficiency can enhance arsenic toxicity, but it remains unknown how zinc status impacts the gut microbiome's response to arsenic exposure and whether this response links to host toxicity. Using 16S amplicon sequencing, we examined the combinatorial effects of exposure to environmentally relevant concentrations of arsenic on the composition of the microbiome in C57BL/6 mice fed diets varying in zinc concentration. Arsenic exposure and marginal zinc deficiency independently altered microbiome diversity. When combined, their effects on microbiome community structure were amplified. Generalized linear models identified microbial taxa whose relative abundance in the gut was perturbed by zinc deficiency, arsenic, or their interaction. Further, we correlated taxonomic abundances with host DNA damage, adiponectin expression, and plasma zinc concentration to identify taxa that may mediate host physiological responses to arsenic exposure or zinc deficiency. Arsenic exposure and zinc restriction also result in increased DNA damage and decreased plasma zinc. These physiological changes are associated with the relative abundance of several gut taxa. These data indicate that marginal zinc deficiency sensitizes the microbiome to arsenic exposure and that the microbiome associates with some toxicological effects of arsenic.IMPORTANCE Xenobiotic compounds, such as arsenic, have the potential to alter the composition and functioning of the gut microbiome. The gut microbiome may also interact with these compounds to mediate their impact on the host. However, little is known about how dietary variation may reshape how the microbiome responds to xenobiotic exposures or how these modified responses may in turn impact host physiology. Here, we investigated the combinatorial effects of marginal zinc deficiency and physiologically relevant concentrations of arsenic on the microbiome. Both zinc deficiency and arsenic exposure were individually associated with altered microbial diversity and when combined elicited synergistic effects. Microbial abundance also covaried with host physiological changes, indicating that the microbiome may contribute to or be influenced by these pathologies. Collectively, this work demonstrates that dietary zinc intake influences the sensitivity of the microbiome to subsequent arsenic exposure.

Dataset Information

The Effects of an Environmentally Relevant Level of Arsenic on the Gut Microbiome and Its Functional Metagenome.

Publications

The Effects of an Environmentally Relevant Level of Arsenic on the Gut Microbiome and Its Functional Metagenome.

Similar Datasets

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