Microbial dysbiosis in irritable bowel syndrome: A single-center metagenomic study in Saudi Arabia

The focus of this study was to explore potential differences in colonic mucosal microbiota in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patients compared to a control group utilizing a metagenomic study.

Mucosal microbiota samples were collected from each IBS patient utilizing jet-flushing colonic mucosa in unified segments of the colon with distilled water, followed by aspiration, during colonoscopy. All the purified dsDNA was extracted and quantified before metagenomic sequencing using an Illumina platform. An equal number of healthy age-matched controls were also examined for colonic mucosal microbiota, which were obtained during screening colonoscopies.

The microbiota data on 50 IBS patients (31 females), with a mean age 43.94 ± 14.50 (range19-65), were analyzed in comparison to 50 controls. Satisfactory DNA samples were subjected to metagenomics study, followed by comprehensive comparative phylogenetic analysis. Metagenomics analysis was carried out, and 3.58G reads were sequenced. Community richness (Chao) and microbial structure in IBS patients were shown to be significantly different from those in the control group. Enrichment of Oxalobacter formigenes, Sutterella wadsworthensis, and Bacteroides pectinophilus was significantly observed in controls, whereas enrichment of Collinsella aerofaciens, Gemella morbillorum, and Veillonella parvula Actinobacteria was observed significantly in the IBS cohort.

The current study has demonstrated significant differences in the microbiota of IBS patients compared to controls.