Disease-specific loss of microbial cross-feeding interactions in the human gut.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
10-20-2023
Publication Title
Nat Commun
Keywords
Humans; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Case-Control Studies; Microbiota; Metagenome; Crohn Disease; washington; isb
Abstract
Many gut microorganisms critical to human health rely on nutrients produced by each other for survival; however, these cross-feeding interactions are still challenging to quantify and remain poorly characterized. Here, we introduce a Metabolite Exchange Score (MES) to quantify those interactions. Using metabolic models of prokaryotic metagenome-assembled genomes from over 1600 individuals, MES allows us to identify and rank metabolic interactions that are significantly affected by a loss of cross-feeding partners in 10 out of 11 diseases. When applied to a Crohn's disease case-control study, our approach identifies a lack of species with the ability to consume hydrogen sulfide as the main distinguishing microbiome feature of disease. We propose that our conceptual framework will help prioritize in-depth analyses, experiments and clinical targets, and that targeting the restoration of microbial cross-feeding interactions is a promising mechanism-informed strategy to reconstruct a healthy gut ecosystem.
Clinical Institute
Digestive Health
Department
Gastroenterology
Recommended Citation
Marcelino, Vanessa R; Welsh, Caitlin; Diener, Christian; Gulliver, Emily L; Rutten, Emily L; Young, Remy B; Giles, Edward M; Gibbons, Sean M; Greening, Chris; and Forster, Samuel C, "Disease-specific loss of microbial cross-feeding interactions in the human gut." (2023). Articles, Abstracts, and Reports. 8179.
https://digitalcommons.providence.org/publications/8179