The waxy mutation in sorghum and other cereal grains reshapes the gut microbiome by reducing levels of multiple beneficial species

Abstract

Waxy starches from cereal grains contain >90% amylopectin due to naturally occurring mutations that block amylose biosynthesis. Waxy starches have unique organoleptic characteristics (e.g. sticky rice) as well as desirable physicochemical properties for food processing. Using isogenic pairs of wild type sorghum lines and their waxy derivatives, we studied the effects of waxy starches in the whole grain context on the human gut microbiome. In vitro fermentations with human stool microbiomes show that beneficial taxonomic and metabolic signatures driven by grain from wild type parental lines are lost in fermentations of grain from the waxy derivatives and the beneficial signatures can be restored by addition of resistant starch. These undesirable effects are conserved in fermentations of waxy maize, wheat, rice and millet. We also demonstrate that humanized gnotobiotic mice fed low fiber diets supplemented with 20% grain from isogenic pairs of waxy vs. wild type parental sorghum have significant differences in microbiome composition and show increased weight gain. We conclude that the benefits of waxy starches on food functionality can have unintended tradeoff effects on the gut microbiome and host physiology that could be particularly relevant in human populations consuming large amounts of waxy grains.

Multiomics analysis reveals gut profiles in patients with different brain tumors

“…SCFAs also protect the BBB from damage. [13,21,22] In our data, according to the α-diversity results, the main difference between the diseases lay in changes in the abundances of the gut microbiota (Fig. 1B, C; Supplemental Fig.…”

“…Current advances have shown that Lachnospiraceae have multiple bene cial effects on the host, while Enterobacteriaceae act as potential pathogens. [21][22][23] Further analysis indicated that among the gram-positive bacteria, the relative abundance of Lachnospiraceae was signi cantly reduced (MEG vs. HCs: p < 0.001; glioma vs. HCs: p = 0.002; BM vs. HCs: p = 0.013). In contrast, among the gram-negative bacteria, the relative abundance of Enterobacteriaceae was substantially enriched (Supplemental Fig.…”

“…These bacteria, identi ed as markers of health (e.g., Dorea longicatena, Dorea formicigenerans, Roseburia inulinivorans), [21,30] were positively correlated with pathways (PWY-5189, PWY-5022, PWY-5101, HISDEG-PWY, RIBOSYN2-PWY, PENTOSE-P-PWY) mainly involved in the metabolism of several essential substances (e.g., heme, vitamin B12,4-aminobutanoate, L-isoleucine, L-histidine, vitamin B2). These were found to be negatively correlated with the decreased abundance of 3,4-DHCA, which is known for its potent antioxidant properties.…”

Formation and Application of Starch–Polyphenol Complexes: Influencing Factors and Rapid Screening Based on Chemometrics

“…Natural starch is composed of linear amylose (composed of α-(1-4)-linked D-glucose units) and highly branched amylopectin (composed of α-(1-4)-linked D-glucose backbone with α-(1-6)-linked branches) [61]. The amylose-to-amylopectin ratio varies with botanical origin and affects the structural and morphological properties of starch, including molecular weight, granule morphology, and the proportion of ordered crystalline to amorphous domains [62].…”

Increased Dietary Trp, Thr, and Met Supplementation Improves Performance, Health, and Protein Metabolism of Weaned Piglets under Mixed Management and Poor Housing Conditions

“…The V4 region of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene was amplified from each sample using Phusion High-Fidelity PCR Master Mix with HF Buffer (Thermo Scientific, Waltham, MA, USA), following the modified dual-indexing sequencing strategy [36,37]. Paired-end sequences were analyzed using the Quantitative Insights Into Microbial Ecology (QIIME) program (version 2, 2021.2) [38].…”