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Updated: May 29, 2026

Investigation of Microbial Cooperation via Imaging Mass Spectrometry Analysis of Bacterial Colonies Grown on Agar and in Tissue During Infection
Published on: November 18, 2022
The gut mycobiome is shaped by interactions with the bacterial community in twins
Konrad Lehr1,2, Ramiro Vilchez-Vargas1, Jurgita Skieceviciene3
1Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Infectious Diseases, Otto-von-Guericke University, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany.
Abstract:
The human gut microbiome comprises bacteria, viruses, and fungi, yet the fungal component (mycobiome) remains poorly characterized. Here, we investigated gut fungal composition and fungal-bacterial interactions in healthy monozygotic and dizygotic twins. Fungal communities showed substantially higher inter-individual variability than bacterial communities. Zygosity, age, and shared environment had no major influence on fungal abundance, similarity, or dominant genera. Candida was the most abundant genus (mean 5.2% in 161 individuals), followed by Geotrichum (3.7% in 132), whereas Saccharomyces was detected less frequently (0.8% in 92). Most bacterial genera were negatively correlated with Candida and Geotrichum, with stronger negative associations observed at higher bacterial abundances (up to rho = -0.6 for Alistipes). Network analysis revealed complex negative correlations among Bacteroides, Prevotella, and Candida. Overall, our findings reveal a highly variable gut mycobiome independent of host zygosity, pointing to a competitive bacterial-fungal interplay as a key regulator of fungal homeostasis in humans.
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