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Updated: Jun 25, 2025
Microbiota Analysis Using Two-step PCR and Next-generation 16S rRNA Gene Sequencing
Published on: October 15, 2019
Gut microbiota composition links to variation in functional domains across psychiatric disorders
Danique Mulder1, Babette Jakobi2, Yingjie Shi2
1Department of Psychiatry, Radboud University Medical Center, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Geert Grooteplein Zuid 10, 6525 GA Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Department of Human Genetics, Radboud University Medical Center, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Objective:
Changes in microbial composition are observed in various psychiatric disorders, but their specificity to certain symptoms or processes remains unclear. This study explores the associations between the gut microbiota composition and the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) domains of functioning, representing symptom domains, specifically focusing on stress-related and neurodevelopmental disorders in patients with and without psychiatric comorbidity.
Methods:
The gut microbiota was analyzed in 369 participants, comprising 272 individuals diagnosed with a mood disorder, anxiety disorder, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, and/or substance use disorder, as well as 97 psychiatrically unaffected individuals. The RDoC domains were estimated using principal component analysis (PCA) with oblique rotation on a range of psychiatric, psychological, and personality measures. Associations between the gut microbiota and the functional domains were assessed using multiple linear regression and permanova, adjusted for age, sex, diet, smoking, medication use and comorbidity status.
Results:
Four functional domains, aligning with RDoC's negative valence, social processes, cognitive systems, and arousal/regulatory systems domains, were identified. Significant associations were found between these domains and eight microbial genera, including associations of negative valence with the abundance of the genera Sellimonas, CHKCI001, Clostridium sensu stricto 1, Oscillibacter, and Flavonifractor; social processes with Sellimonas; cognitive systems with Sporobacter and Hungatella; and arousal/regulatory systems with Ruminococcus torques (all pFDR < 0.05).
Conclusion:
Our findings demonstrate associations between the gut microbiota and the domains of functioning across patients and unaffected individuals, potentially mediated by immune-related processes. These results open avenues for microbiota-focused personalized interventions, considering psychiatric comorbidity. However, further research is warranted to establish causality and elucidate mechanistic pathways.
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