Exploring the impact of the human FUT2 gene on gut lactobacilli and bifidobacteria to improve gut health through personalised probiotics
The human FUT2 gene encodes an enzyme that mediates the attachment of fucose to mucosal glycans. Individuals with one or two functional FUT2 alleles are secretors, while those with two non-functional alleles are non-secretors. Secretor status can influence gut microbiome diversity.
Probiotics can improve gut health, but their relationship with host secretor status is not well understood. The aim of this project was to investigate whether secretor status influences gut microbiome taxa with probiotic potential, namely bifidobacteria and lactobacilli, to identify secretor status-based probiotic candidates.
The relationship between secretor status and the abundance of lactobacilli and bifidobacteria was investigated using 16S rRNA gene sequencing data from stool samples, but there were no significant differences between secretors and non-secretors. However, different lactobacilli genera were present in the two groups, with secretors presenting mainly Limosilactobacillus and Ligilactobacillus.
In parallel, bacterial colonies isolated from stool samples were identified using a novel 16S rRNA gene-based identification method and the genomes of bifidobacteria and lactobacilli strains were sequenced. Bifidobacteria were isolated significantly more often from secretors than non-secretors. However, there were no significant differences according to secretor status in terms of fucose-specific genes and functional categories in lactobacilli, bifidobacteria and B. longum subsp. longum.
Finally, an opinion paper was developed to explore the evolutionary mismatch between modern weight loss goals and the survival-oriented human physiology, focusing on the influence of factors such as population genetics and the gut microbiome.
Overall, the results of this study did not support the possibility of enhancing probiotic efficacy through customization based on secretor status.
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