Project description:A phylogenetic microarray targeting 66 families described in the human gut microbiota has been developped aud used to monitor the gut microbiota's structure and diversity. The microarray format provided by Agilent and used in this study is 8x15K. A study with a total of 4 chips was realized. Arrays 1 and 2: Hybridization with 100ng of labelled 16S rRNA gene amplicons from a mock community sample and 250ng of labelled 16S rRNA gene amplicons from 1 faecal sample. Each Agilent-030618 array probe (4441) was synthetized in three replicates. Arrays 3 and 4: Hybridization with 250ng of labelled 16S rRNA gene amplicons from 2 faecal samples. Each Agilent-40558 array probe (4441) was synthetized in three replicates.
Project description:Phylogenomic analysis of 589 metagenome-assembled genomes encompassing all major prokaryotic lineages from the gut of higher termites
Project description:Gut microbiota were assessed in 540 colonoscopy-screened adults by 16S rRNA gene sequencing of stool samples. Investigators compared gut microbiota diversity, overall composition, and normalized taxon abundance among these groups.
Project description:Gut microbiome research is rapidly moving towards the functional characterization of the microbiota by means of shotgun meta-omics. Here, we selected a cohort of healthy subjects from an indigenous and monitored Sardinian population to analyze their gut microbiota using both shotgun metagenomics and shotgun metaproteomics. We found a considerable divergence between genetic potential and functional activity of the human healthy gut microbiota, in spite of a quite comparable taxonomic structure revealed by the two approaches. Investigation of inter-individual variability of taxonomic features revealed Bacteroides and Akkermansia as remarkably conserved and variable in abundance within the population, respectively. Firmicutes-driven butyrogenesis (mainly due to Faecalibacterium spp.) was shown to be the functional activity with the higher expression rate and the lower inter-individual variability in the study cohort, highlighting the key importance of the biosynthesis of this microbial by-product for the gut homeostasis. The taxon-specific contribution to functional activities and metabolic tasks was also examined, giving insights into the peculiar role of several gut microbiota members in carbohydrate metabolism (including polysaccharide degradation, glycan transport, glycolysis and short-chain fatty acid production). In conclusion, our results provide useful indications regarding the main functions actively exerted by the gut microbiota members of a healthy human cohort, and support metaproteomics as a valuable approach to investigate the functional role of the gut microbiota in health and disease.