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Updated: Feb 15, 2026

Applying Advanced In Vitro Culturing Technology to Study the Human Gut Microbiota
Published on: February 15, 2019
The HUNT study identifies host genetic factors reproducibly associated with human gut microbiota composition
Marta Riise Moksnes1, Eivind Coward2, Maria Nethander3
1Department of Internal Medicine and Clinical Nutrition, Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Osteoporosis Centre, Centre for Bone and Arthritis Research at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden. marta.r.moksnes@ntnu.no.
None:
The gut microbiota is associated with human health and disease. Here we conducted a genome-wide association study of host genetic factors influencing gut microbiota composition in 12,652 individuals from the Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT), with replication in Nordic cohorts (n = 16,017-21,976). We identified 12 reproducible SNP-species associations across six genomic loci, including known (LCT, ABO) and novel (HLA-DQB1, MUC12, SLC37A2, FUT2) regions. Additionally, we detected genetic signals associated with gut microbiota functional modules at three loci (LCT, ABO, FUT2). Follow-up analyses suggest that these host-microbiota associations are linked to the pathogenesis of celiac disease and hemorrhoidal disease. Mendelian randomization analyses provided evidence supporting a causal effect of body mass index on gut microbiota composition. These findings highlight the interplay between host genetics and gut microbiota for human health and disease.
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