Project description:Genomes of microorganisms that have been isolated in and on the human body, to be used as Reference Genomes for the Human Microbiome Project (HMP)
Project description:<p>This first clinical study of the Human Microbiome Project (HMP) addresses whether individuals share a core human microbiome. It involves broad determination of the microbiota found in five anatomical sites: the oral cavity, skin, nasal cavity, gastrointestinal tract and vagina. This study will enroll approximately 300 healthy male and female adults, 18-40 years old, from two geographic regions of the US: Houston, TX and St. Louis, MO. The participation of healthy individuals will create a baseline for discovery of the core microbiota typically found in various areas of the human body. The information from this initial study can then be used to help assess the changes in the complement of microbiota found on or within diseased individuals.</p>
Project description:Aging is associated with declining immunity and inflammation as well as alterations in the gut microbiome with a decrease of beneficial microbes and increase in pathogenic ones. The aim of this study was to investigate aging associated gut microbiome in relation to immunologic and metabolic profile in a non-human primate (NHP) model. 12 old (age>18 years) and 4 young (age 3-6 years) Rhesus macaques were included in this study. Immune cell subsets were characterized in PBMC by flow cytometry and plasma cytokines levels were determined by bead based multiplex cytokine analysis. Stool samples were collected by ileal loop and investigated for microbiome analysis by shotgun metagenomics. Serum, gut microbial lysate and microbe-free fecal extract were subjected to metabolomic analysis by mass-spectrometry. Our results showed that the old animals exhibited higher inflammatory biomarkers in plasma and lower CD4 T cells with altered distribution of naïve and memory T cell maturation subsets. The gut microbiome in old animals had higher abundance of Archaeal and Proteobacterial species and lower Firmicutes than the young. Significant enrichment of metabolites that contribute to inflammatory and cytotoxic pathways was observed in serum and feces of old animals compared to the young. We conclude that aging NHP undergo immunosenescence and age associated alterations in the gut microbiome that has a distinct metabolic profile.
Project description:<p>This first clinical study of the Human Microbiome Project (HMP) addresses whether individuals share a core human microbiome. It involves broad determination of the microbiota found in five anatomical sites: the oral cavity, skin, nasal cavity, gastrointestinal tract and vagina. This study will enroll approximately 300 healthy male and female adults, 18-40 years old, from two geographic regions of the US: Houston, TX and St. Louis, MO. The participation of healthy individuals will create a baseline for discovery of the core microbiota typically found in various areas of the human body. The information from this initial study can then be used to help assess the changes in the complement of microbiota found on or within diseased individuals.</p>
Project description:Genomes of viruses and phages that have been isolated in and on the human body, to be used as Reference Genomes for the Human Viral Microbiome Project (HMP)
Project description:Escherichia coli strains MG1655 and an isogenic hmp::Tn5 mutant were grown in a New Brunswick Scientific Bioflow III Biofermentor under continuous culture (chemostat) conditions.. Cells were grown in defined media containing 8 mM glycerol as the sole and limiting source of energy and carbon. The working volume was 1 litre, and the dilution rate 0.1 h-1. For aerobic growth, the air-flow rate was 1 l/min, and the dissolved oxygen tension was maintained at 40% air saturation by measuring oxygen dissolved in the culture using a Broadley James D140 OxyProbe® electrode and automated adjustment of stirring rate. Cells were grown as above to steady-state, At steady-state, NOC-5 and NOC-7 was added to the chemostat culture and to the nutrient feed at a final concentration of 10 uM of each unless stated otherwise. Samples were taken after a period of 5 min exposure to NOC for subsequent analysis using microarrays. Cells were harvested directly into RNA Protect (Qiagen) to stabilize RNA, and total RNA was purified using Qiagen’s RNeasy Mini kit as recommended by the suppliers. Equal quantities of RNA from Wild type and hmp::Tn5 cultures were labelled using nucleotide analogues of dCTP containing either Cy3 or Cy5 fluorescent dyes. The average signal intensity and local background correction were obtained using a commercially available software package from Biodiscovery, Inc (Imagene, version 4.0 and GeneSight, version 3.5). The mean values from each channel were log2 transformed and normalised using the Lowess method to remove intensity-dependent effects in the log2(ratios) values. The Cy3/Cy5 fluorescent ratios were calculated from the normalized values Keywords: Mutant Comparison, stress response, nitric oxide, Hmp, chemostat, continuous culture Each strain was grown twice in seperate chemostat runs, exposed to NO. Samples were hybridised as WT vs hmp::Tn5 and each hybridisation had a corresponding dye-swap performed
Project description:Escherichia coli strains MG1655 and an isogenic hmp::Tn5 mutant were grown in a New Brunswick Scientific Bioflow III Biofermentor under continuous culture (chemostat) conditions.. Cells were grown in defined media containing 8 mM glycerol as the sole and limiting source of energy and carbon. The working volume was 1 litre, and the dilution rate 0.1 h-1. For aerobic growth, the air-flow rate was 1 l/min, and the dissolved oxygen tension was maintained at 40% air saturation by measuring oxygen dissolved in the culture using a Broadley James D140 OxyProbe® electrode and automated adjustment of stirring rate. Cells were grown as above to steady-state, At steady-state, NOC-5 and NOC-7 was added to the chemostat culture and to the nutrient feed at a final concentration of 10 uM of each unless stated otherwise. Samples were taken after a period of 5 min exposure to NOC for subsequent analysis using microarrays. Cells were harvested directly into RNA Protect (Qiagen) to stabilize RNA, and total RNA was purified using Qiagen’s RNeasy Mini kit as recommended by the suppliers. Equal quantities of RNA from Wild type and hmp::Tn5 cultures were labelled using nucleotide analogues of dCTP containing either Cy3 or Cy5 fluorescent dyes. The average signal intensity and local background correction were obtained using a commercially available software package from Biodiscovery, Inc (Imagene, version 4.0 and GeneSight, version 3.5). The mean values from each channel were log2 transformed and normalised using the Lowess method to remove intensity-dependent effects in the log2(ratios) values. The Cy3/Cy5 fluorescent ratios were calculated from the normalized values Keywords: Mutant Comparison, stress response, nitric oxide, Hmp, chemostat, continuous culture
Project description:Dysbiotic configurations of the human gut microbiota have been linked with colorectal cancer (CRC). Human small non-coding RNAs are also implicated in CRC and recent findings suggest that their release in the gut lumen contributes to shape the gut microbiota. Bacterial small RNAs (bsRNAs) may also play a role in carcinogenesis but their role is less explored. Here, we performed small RNA and shotgun sequencing on 80 stool specimens of patients with CRC, or adenomas, and healthy subjects collected in a cross-sectional study to evaluate their combined use as a predictive tool for disease detection. We reported a considerable overlap and correlation between metagenomic and bsRNA quantitative taxonomic profiles obtained from the two approaches. Furthermore, we identified a combined predictive signature composed by 32 features from human and microbial small RNAs and DNA-based microbiome able to accurately classify CRC from healthy and adenoma samples (AUC= 0.87). In summary we reported evidence that host-microbiome dysbiosis in CRC can be observed also by altered small RNA stool profiles. Integrated analyses of the microbiome and small RNAs in the human stool may provide insights for designing more accurate tools for diagnostic purposes.