Specific substrate-driven changes in human faecal microbiota composition contrast with functional redundancy in short-chain fatty acid production

Reichardt, N. et al. (2018) Specific substrate-driven changes in human faecal microbiota composition contrast with functional redundancy in short-chain fatty acid production. ISME Journal, 12, pp. 610-622. (doi: 10.1038/ismej.2017.196) (PMID:29192904)

[img]
Preview
Text
149443.pdf - Accepted Version

2MB
[img] Other (Spreadsheet)
149443Suppl.xlsx - Supplemental Material

917kB

Abstract

The diet provides carbohydrates that are non-digestible in the upper gut and are major carbon and energy sources for the microbial community in the lower intestine, supporting a complex metabolic network. Fermentation produces the short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) acetate, propionate and butyrate, which have health-promoting effects for the human host. Here we investigated microbial community changes and SCFA production during in vitro batch incubations of 15 different non-digestible carbohydrates, at two initial pH values with faecal microbiota from three different human donors. To investigate temporal stability and reproducibility, a further experiment was performed 1 year later with four of the carbohydrates. The lower pH (5.5) led to higher butyrate and the higher pH (6.5) to more propionate production. The strongest propionigenic effect was found with rhamnose, followed by galactomannans, whereas fructans and several α- and β-glucans led to higher butyrate production. 16S ribosomal RNA gene-based quantitative PCR analysis of 22 different microbial groups together with 454 sequencing revealed significant stimulation of specific bacteria in response to particular carbohydrates. Some changes were ascribed to metabolite cross-feeding, for example, utilisation by Eubacterium hallii of 1,2-propanediol produced from fermentation of rhamnose by Blautia spp. Despite marked inter-individual differences in microbiota composition, SCFA production was surprisingly reproducible for different carbohydrates, indicating a level of functional redundancy. Interestingly, butyrate formation was influenced not only by the overall % butyrate-producing bacteria in the community but also by the initial pH, consistent with a pH-dependent shift in the stoichiometry of butyrate production.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Preston, Professor Tom and Morrison, Professor Douglas and Reichardt, Ms Nicole and Milligan, Professor Graeme
Authors: Reichardt, N., Vollmer, M., Holtrop, G., Farquharson, F. M., Wefers, D., Bunzel, M., Duncan, S. H., Drew, J. E., Williams, L. M., Milligan, G., Preston, T., Morrison, D., Flint, H. J., and Louis, P.
College/School:College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Molecular Biosciences
College of Science and Engineering > Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre
Journal Name:ISME Journal
Publisher:Nature Publishing Group
ISSN:1751-7362
ISSN (Online):1751-7370
Published Online:01 December 2017
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2017 International Society for Microbial Ecology
First Published:First published in ISME Journal 12:610-622
Publisher Policy:Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher.

University Staff: Request a correction | Enlighten Editors: Update this record