Human gut microbiome aging clocks based on taxonomic and functional signatures through multi-view learning

The human gut microbiome is a complex ecosystem that is closely related to the aging process. However, there is currently no reliable method to make full use of the metagenomics data of the gut microbiome to determine the age of the host. In this study, we considered the influence of geographical factors on the gut microbiome, and a total of 2604 filtered metagenomics data from the gut microbiome were used to construct an age prediction model. Then, we developed an ensemble model with multiple heterogeneous algorithms and combined species and pathway profiles for multi-view learning. By integrating gut microbiome metagenomics data and adjusting host confounding factors, the model showed high accuracy (R² = 0.599, mean absolute error = 8.33 years). Besides, we further interpreted the model and identify potential biomarkers for the aging process. Among these identified biomarkers, we found that Finegoldia magna, Bifidobacterium dentium, and Clostridium clostridioforme had increased abundance in the elderly. Moreover, the utilization of amino acids by the gut microbiome undergoes substantial changes with increasing age which have been reported as the risk factors for age-associated malnutrition and inflammation. This model will be helpful for the comprehensive utilization of multiple omics data, and will allow greater understanding of the interaction between microorganisms and age to realize the targeted intervention of aging.