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Published on: December 31, 2017
Enterosignatures define common bacterial guilds in the human gut microbiome
Clémence Frioux1, Rebecca Ansorge2, Ezgi Özkurt2
1Food, Microbiome, and Health Institute Strategic Programme, Quadram Institute Bioscience, Norwich Research Park, NR4 7UQ Norwich, Norfolk, UK; Digital Biology, Earlham Institute NR4 7UZ Norwich, Norfolk, UK; Inria, University of Bordeaux, INRAE, 33400 Talence, France.
Researchers identified five core bacterial groups, called enterosignatures (ESs), in the human gut microbiome. These signatures help characterize gut health and disease states, revealing shifts in microbial communities.
Area of Science:
- Microbiome research
- Gut ecology
- Bacterial community analysis
Background:
- Human gut microbiome composition is typically stable but can become dysbiotic, negatively impacting host health.
- Understanding microbiome variability requires advanced ecological models.
- Previous enterotype concepts provided foundational insights into microbiome structure.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize bacterial co-occurrence patterns in the gut microbiome.
- To develop a model for classifying gut microbiome variability.
- To identify microbial signatures associated with host health and disease.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of 5,230 human gut metagenomes.
- Identification and characterization of bacterial co-occurrence patterns, termed enterosignatures (ESs).
- Validation of the model for detecting community shifts and health correlations.
Main Results:
- Five generalizable ESs were identified, dominated by Bacteroides, Firmicutes, Prevotella, Bifidobacterium, or Escherichia.
- The model captures known enterotype characteristics and detects gradual community structure shifts.
- The Bacteroides-associated ES appears core to westernized gut microbiome resilience.
- Atypical microbiomes linked to adverse health and pathobionts were reliably detected.
Conclusions:
- Enterosignatures (ESs) provide an interpretable and generic model for gut microbiome characterization.
- This approach enables intuitive analysis of microbiome composition in both health and disease.
- The ES model enhances understanding of gut microbial ecology and its health implications.
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