Microbial community-scale metabolic modelling predicts personalized short-chain fatty acid production profiles in the human gut.
Publication Title
Nat Microbiol
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
7-1-2024
Keywords
Humans; Fatty Acids, Volatile; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Prebiotics; Probiotics; Models, Biological; Diet; Bacteria; Cohort Studies; Gastrointestinal Tract; Adult; washington; isb; genomics
Abstract
Microbially derived short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in the human gut are tightly coupled to host metabolism, immune regulation and integrity of the intestinal epithelium. However, the production of SCFAs can vary widely between individuals consuming the same diet, with lower levels often associated with disease. A systems-scale mechanistic understanding of this heterogeneity is lacking. Here we use a microbial community-scale metabolic modelling (MCMM) approach to predict individual-specific SCFA production profiles to assess the impact of different dietary, prebiotic and probiotic inputs. We evaluate the quantitative accuracy of our MCMMs using in vitro and ex vivo data, plus published human cohort data. We find that MCMM SCFA predictions are significantly associated with blood-derived clinical chemistries, including cardiometabolic and immunological health markers, across a large human cohort. Finally, we demonstrate how MCMMs can be leveraged to design personalized dietary, prebiotic and probiotic interventions aimed at optimizing SCFA production in the gut. Our model represents an approach to direct gut microbiome engineering for precision health and nutrition.
Clinical Institute
Digestive Health
Specialty/Research Institute
Gastroenterology
DOI
10.1038/s41564-024-01728-4
