Prevotella abundance and salivary amylase gene copy number predict fat loss in response to wholegrain diets
Christensen et al. 2022
Salivary amylase (AMY1) gene copy number (CN) and Prevotella abundance in the gut are involved in carbohydrate digestion in the upper and lower gastrointestinal tract, respectively; and have been suggested as prognostic biomarkers for weight loss among overweight individuals consuming diets rich in fiber and wholegrains.
In both studies, individuals with low AMY1 CN exhibited a positive correlation between baseline Prevotella abundance and fat loss after consuming the wholegrain diet (r > 0.5, P < 0.05), but no correlation among participants with high AMY1 CN (P ≥ 0.6). Following consumption of the refined wheat control diets, there were no associations between baseline Prevotella abundance and changes in body fat in any of the AMY1 groups.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2022.947349 22 August 2022
The Gut Microbiome and Abiotic
Factors as Potential Determinants of
Postprandial Glucose Responses: A
Single-Arm Meal Study
Nestel et al. 2021
The gut microbiome has combined with other person-specific information, such as
blood parameters, dietary habits, anthropometrics, and physical activity been found to
predict personalized postprandial glucose responses (PPGRs) to various foods. Yet, the
contributions of specific microbiome taxa, measures of fermentation, and abiotic factors
in the colon to glycemic control remain elusive. We tested whether PPGRs 60min after a
standardized breakfast was associated with gut microbial a-diversity (primary outcome)
and explored whether postprandial responses of glucose and insulin were associated
with specific microbiome taxa, colonic fermentation as reflected by fecal short-chain
fatty acids (SCFAs), and breath hydrogen and methane exhalation, as well as abiotic
factors including fecal pH, fecal water content, fecal energy density, intestinal transit
time (ITT), and stool consistency.
DOI https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2020.594850 14 January 2021
Settlers of our inner surface – factors shaping the gut
microbiota from birth to toddlerhood
Laursen et al. 2021
During the first 3 years of life, the microbial ecosystem within the human gut undergoes a process that is unlike what
happens in this ecosystem at any other time of our life. This period in time is considered a highly important developmental
window, where the gut microbiota is much less resilient and much more responsive to external and environmental factors
than seen in the adult gut. While advanced bioinformatics and clinical correlation studies have received extensive focus
within studies of the human microbiome, basic microbial growth physiology has attracted much less attention, although it
plays a pivotal role to understand the developing gut microbiota during early life. In this review, we will thus take a
microbial ecology perspective on the analysis of factors that influence the temporal development of the infant gut
microbiota. Such factors include sources of microbes that seed the intestinal environment, physico-chemical (abiotic)
conditions influencing microbial growth and the availability of nutrients needed by the intestinal microbes.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/femsre/fuab001 11 January 2021
In vitro ecology: a discovery engine for microbiome therapies
Hernandez-Sanabria et al. 2020
To therapeutically modulate gut microbial ecosystems, a better understanding of gut ecology is key. High-throughput in vitro ecology provides a tool with the necessary power to address these needs and interpersonal treatment response variation.
DOI https://doi.org/10.1038/s41575-020-00364-7 15 September 2020
The metabolic nature of individuality
Lars O. Dragsted, 2020
A diet-controlled study indicates that metabolic flexibility is an important driver of inter-individual difference in the response to dietary change, and a high flexibility score is a likely health asset.
DOI https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-020-0104-z 17 June 2020