Metagenomic analysis of gut microbial communities from a Central Asian population

Abstract

ObjectiveChanges in the gut microbiota are increasingly recognised to be involved in many diseases. This ecosystem is known to be shaped by many factors, including climate, geography, host nutrition, lifestyle and medication. Thus, knowledge of varying populations with different habits is important for a better understanding of the microbiome.DesignWe therefore conducted a metagenomic analysis of intestinal microbiota from Kazakh donors, recruiting 84 subjects, including male and female healthy subjects and metabolic syndrome (MetS) patients aged 25–75 years, from the Kazakh administrative centre, Astana. We characterise and describe these microbiomes, the first deep-sequencing cohort from Central Asia, in comparison with a global dataset (832 individuals from five countries on three continents), and explore correlations between microbiota, clinical and laboratory parameters as well as with nutritional data from Food Frequency Questionnaires.ResultsWe observe that Kazakh microbiomes are relatively different from both European and East Asian counterparts, though similar to other Central Asian microbiomes, with the most striking difference being significantly more samples falling within the Prevotella-rich enterotype, potentially reflecting regional diet and lifestyle. We show that this enterotype designation remains stable within an individual over time in 82% of cases. We further observe gut microbiome features that distinguish MetS patients from controls (eg, significantly reduced Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes ratio, Bifidobacteria and Subdoligranulum, alongside increased Prevotella), though these overlap little with previously published reports and thus may reflect idiosyncrasies of the present cohort.ConclusionTaken together, this exploratory study describes gut microbiome data from an understudied population, providing a starting point for further comparative work on biogeography and research on widespread diseases.Trial registration numberISRCTN37346212; Post-results.

Psoriasis Is Associated With Elevated Gut IL-1α and Intestinal Microbiome Alterations

“…To the best of our knowledge this study is the first to characterize psoriasis in a population from Kazakhstan and to assess its associations with gut immunology and microbiome. Earlier, we performed a large-scale metagenomic analysis and compared the Kazakh gut metagenome to its counterparts from other regions of the world ( 8 ). We found significant differences between the microbiomes of Kazakhs and both Europeans and East Asians.…”

“…In earlier work, we characterized the gut microbiome of adults with and without metabolic syndrome from Kazakhstan, a country in Central Asia ( 8 ). As part of our overarching objective to better understand the relationship between the mucosal and systemic correlates of chronic disease in this region ( 8 , 9 ), here we expand on our earlier findings and focus on the gut microenvironment in individuals with psoriasis. We hypothesized that psoriasis in adult Central Asians is associated with gut inflammation and microbiome alterations.…”

Metagenomics Reveals Impact of Urbanisation in Central India on the Human Gut Microbiome and its Antimicrobial Resistance Profiles

“…In our follow-on faecal metagenome study in which we also sought to characterise the impact of C. [11,[14][15][16] and has also been observed as the dominant genus in Mongolian, Amerindian and Malawian groups [11], indicating the occurrence of Enterotype 2 as proposed by Arumugam et al, 2011 [23]. Prevotella predominance may reflect the diet of the Korku tribe, which is rich in carbohydrates and dietary fibres.…”

“…Some of these communities, including a large tribal population, remain dependent on hunting, agriculture and fishing with their own culture, tradition, dietary habits, language and genetic make-up. Recently, studies have begun to explore the Indian gut microbiome including that of the country's scheduled tribes, principally using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing methods to profile mainly gut bacterial diversity in rural and urban healthy populations [11][12][13][14] with only a few reports employing whole-genome shotgun metagenomic sequencing approaches [15][16]. Whilst the majority of the aforementioned studies have analysed small population cohorts from Northern, Southern and Western Indian territories, there is a dearth of information characterising the gut microbiomes of Central Indian populations.…”

Dietary Components, Microbial Metabolites and Human Health: Reading between the Lines

“…This dietary pattern includes high availability of animal-source foods and few plant foods, with risks of overweight and micronutrient deficiencies [ 141 ]. The microbiomes of central Asians and Europeans are quite different, with the most striking difference being significantly more samples falling within the Prevotella -rich enterotype, potentially reflecting regional diets and lifestyles [ 144 ].…”