Fungal-Bacterial Interactions in the Human Gut of Healthy Individuals
Most studies of the microbiota in the human gut focus on the bacterial part, but increasing information shows that intestinal fungi are also important for maintaining health. This can be either by directly influencing the host or by indirectly influencing the gut bacteria that link to host health. S...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-01-01
|
| Series: | Journal of Fungi |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2309-608X/9/2/139 |
| _version_ | 1827756930927427584 |
|---|---|
| author | Evy Maas John Penders Koen Venema |
| author_facet | Evy Maas John Penders Koen Venema |
| author_sort | Evy Maas |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Most studies of the microbiota in the human gut focus on the bacterial part, but increasing information shows that intestinal fungi are also important for maintaining health. This can be either by directly influencing the host or by indirectly influencing the gut bacteria that link to host health. Studies of fungal communities in large cohorts are scarce; therefore, this study aims at obtaining more insight into the mycobiome of healthy individuals and how this mycobiome interacts with the bacterial component of the microbiome. For this purpose, ITS2 and 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing was performed on fecal samples from 163 individuals which were available from two separate studies to analyze the fungal and bacterial microbiome, respectively, as well as the cross-kingdom interactions. The results showed a much lower fungal, as compared to bacterial, diversity. <i>Ascomycota</i> and <i>Basidiomycota</i> were the dominant fungal phyla across all the samples, but levels varied enormously between individuals. The ten most abundant fungal genera were <i>Saccharomyces, Candida, Dipodascus, Aureobasidium, Penicillium, Hanseniaspora, Agaricus, Debaryomyces, Aspergillus</i>, and <i>Pichia,</i> and here also extensive inter-individual variation was observed. Correlations were made between bacteria and fungi, and only positive correlations were observed. One of the correlations was between <i>Malassezia restricta</i> and the genus <i>Bacteroides</i>, which have both been previously described as alleviated in IBD. Most of the other correlations found were with fungi that are not known as gut colonizers but originate from food and the environment. To further investigate the importance of the observed correlations found, more research is needed to discriminate between gut colonizers and transient species. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T08:35:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-34bd987ee902460ca1561bb1d86e4500 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2309-608X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T08:35:30Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Fungi |
| spelling | doaj.art-34bd987ee902460ca1561bb1d86e45002023-11-16T21:29:38ZengMDPI AGJournal of Fungi2309-608X2023-01-019213910.3390/jof9020139Fungal-Bacterial Interactions in the Human Gut of Healthy IndividualsEvy Maas0John Penders1Koen Venema2Centre for Healthy Eating & Food Innovation, Campus Venlo, Maastricht University, Villafloraweg 1, 5928 SZ Venlo, The NetherlandsEuregional Microbiome Center, P. Debyelaan 25, 6229 HX Maastricht, The NetherlandsCentre for Healthy Eating & Food Innovation, Campus Venlo, Maastricht University, Villafloraweg 1, 5928 SZ Venlo, The NetherlandsMost studies of the microbiota in the human gut focus on the bacterial part, but increasing information shows that intestinal fungi are also important for maintaining health. This can be either by directly influencing the host or by indirectly influencing the gut bacteria that link to host health. Studies of fungal communities in large cohorts are scarce; therefore, this study aims at obtaining more insight into the mycobiome of healthy individuals and how this mycobiome interacts with the bacterial component of the microbiome. For this purpose, ITS2 and 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing was performed on fecal samples from 163 individuals which were available from two separate studies to analyze the fungal and bacterial microbiome, respectively, as well as the cross-kingdom interactions. The results showed a much lower fungal, as compared to bacterial, diversity. <i>Ascomycota</i> and <i>Basidiomycota</i> were the dominant fungal phyla across all the samples, but levels varied enormously between individuals. The ten most abundant fungal genera were <i>Saccharomyces, Candida, Dipodascus, Aureobasidium, Penicillium, Hanseniaspora, Agaricus, Debaryomyces, Aspergillus</i>, and <i>Pichia,</i> and here also extensive inter-individual variation was observed. Correlations were made between bacteria and fungi, and only positive correlations were observed. One of the correlations was between <i>Malassezia restricta</i> and the genus <i>Bacteroides</i>, which have both been previously described as alleviated in IBD. Most of the other correlations found were with fungi that are not known as gut colonizers but originate from food and the environment. To further investigate the importance of the observed correlations found, more research is needed to discriminate between gut colonizers and transient species.https://www.mdpi.com/2309-608X/9/2/139fungimicrobiomeITS2 sequencingfungal-bacterial interactions |
| spellingShingle | Evy Maas John Penders Koen Venema Fungal-Bacterial Interactions in the Human Gut of Healthy Individuals Journal of Fungi fungi microbiome ITS2 sequencing fungal-bacterial interactions |
| title | Fungal-Bacterial Interactions in the Human Gut of Healthy Individuals |
| title_full | Fungal-Bacterial Interactions in the Human Gut of Healthy Individuals |
| title_fullStr | Fungal-Bacterial Interactions in the Human Gut of Healthy Individuals |
| title_full_unstemmed | Fungal-Bacterial Interactions in the Human Gut of Healthy Individuals |
| title_short | Fungal-Bacterial Interactions in the Human Gut of Healthy Individuals |
| title_sort | fungal bacterial interactions in the human gut of healthy individuals |
| topic | fungi microbiome ITS2 sequencing fungal-bacterial interactions |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2309-608X/9/2/139 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT evymaas fungalbacterialinteractionsinthehumangutofhealthyindividuals AT johnpenders fungalbacterialinteractionsinthehumangutofhealthyindividuals AT koenvenema fungalbacterialinteractionsinthehumangutofhealthyindividuals |