Short-Term Alcohol Consumption Is Sufficient to Disrupt Microbial Communities and the Intestinal and Circulating...

Area of Science:

• Gastroenterology and Microbiology
• Alcohol-related research
• Host-microbiome interactions

Background:

• The gut microbiome is vital for health, but alcohol misuse can cause dysbiosis.
• Previous studies on alcohol's microbiome impact are limited by human study confounders and rodent model differences.
• The longitudinal effects of alcohol on gut microbial communities and their metabolism are poorly understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of 6-month voluntary daily alcohol consumption on the gut microbiome in rhesus macaques.
• To analyze the implications for circulating and intestinal metabolomes.
• To understand the longitudinal effects of alcohol use on the gut microbiome.

Main Methods:

• Rhesus macaques consumed alcohol voluntarily for 6 months.
• Gut microbiome composition was analyzed.
• Circulating and intestinal metabolomes were assessed.

Main Results:

• Alcohol consumption induced dynamic changes in short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) producing bacteria.
• An increase in microbes associated with negative regulation of inflammation was observed.
• Altered fatty acid and amino acid metabolite signatures were detected.

Conclusions:

• Short-term alcohol intake causes significant gut microbiome shifts in a primate model.
• These microbiome alterations are associated with changes in host metabolism.
• This study provides insights into the longitudinal impact of alcohol use on the gut microbiome and metabolome.