Comprehensive mouse microbiota genome catalog reveals major difference to its human counterpart

Area of Science:

• Microbiome research
• Genomics
• Comparative biology

Background:

• The mouse gut microbiome's species composition is largely unknown, hindering comparative studies with human microbiomes.
• Understanding mouse gut microbiota is crucial as it's a primary model for host-microbe interaction research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To construct a comprehensive genome catalog for the mouse gut microbiome.
• To assess the similarity between human and mouse gut microbial communities at a species level.
• To improve functional analysis of host-microbe interactions.

Main Methods:

• Assembled available mouse gut metagenomes and reference genomes.
• Combined with metagenome-assembled genomes to create the Comprehensive Mouse Microbiota Genome (CMMG) catalog.
• Clustered genomes into species and annotated functions.

Main Results:

• The CMMG catalog contains 41,798 genomes, clustering into 1,573 species, with 78.1% uncultured.
• Discovered 226 new genera, seven new families, and one new order.
• Achieved over 86% coverage of the mouse gut microbiome, increasing mapping rates four-fold.
• Human and mouse gut microbiomes show 62% genus overlap but only 10% species overlap, indicating significant divergence.

Conclusions:

• The CMMG catalog provides unprecedented coverage and depth for mouse gut microbiome research.
• Human and mouse gut microbiomes are largely distinct at the species level.
• This resource facilitates detailed functional analyses and reanalysis of existing microbiome datasets.