The gut bacteria exert phenotypic traits to the host but the factors which determine the gut bacterial profile (GBP) is poorly understood. This study aimed to understand the effect of ethnicity and geography on GBP of Mongoloid and Proto-Australoid tribes of India. Fecal bacterial diversity was studied in fifteen tribal populations representing four geographic regions (Assam, Telangana, Manipur and Sikkim) by DGGE followed by NGS analysis on Illumina MiSeq platform. Geography and diet had significant effect on GBP of the Indian tribes which was dominated by Prevotella. The effects were more prominent with lower taxonomic levels, indicating probable functional redundancy of the core GBP. A comparison with the worldwide data revealed that GBP of the Indian population was similar to the Mongolian population (Mongolia). The bacterial genera Faecalibacterium, Eubacterium, Clostridium, Blautia, Ruminococcus and Roseburia were found to be core genera in the representative populations of the world.

Fragrant agarwood, arguably the costliest wood in the world, is formed by plant-fungal interactions in Aquilaria spp. However, very little is known about this fragrant outcome of interaction. Therefore, mimicking the ancient traditions of agarwood production in Assam (Northeast India), a chemometric assessment of the agarwood-fungus interaction was made by chemical profiling (GC-MS) coupled with statistical analysis (principal component, correlation network analysis) across three platforms, viz. callus, juvenile plants and resinous wood-chips with an associated Fusarium. In the study of callus-fungus interaction, increased accumulation of key aroma compounds such as pentatriacontane {fold change (log2FC) = 3.47)}, 17-pentatriacontene (log2FC = 2.95), tetradecane, 2-methyl- (log2FC = 1.10) over callus and activation of pathways related to defense and secondary metabolism indicated links to aroma production. Study on fungal interactions in juvenile plants and resinous wood-chips indicated formation of terpenoid precursors (e.g. farnesol, geranylgeraniol acetate) and agarwood sesquiterpenes (e.g. agarospirol, γ-eudesmol). Correlation network analysis revealed the possible regulation of sesquiterpene biosynthesis involving squalene. Also a direct role of fungus in aroma (e.g. dodecane, 4-methyl-, tetracosane) was highlighted. Appearance of fragrant molecules unknown to agarwood during interaction featured as a new possibility for future research.

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