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. 2022;41(2):45-53.
doi: 10.12938/bmfh.2021-056. Epub 2021 Dec 7.

Average gut flora in healthy Japanese subjects stratified by age and body mass index

Naofumi Yoshida  1 , Satoshi Watanabe  2 , Hiroyuki Yamasaki  2 , Hajime Sakuma  3 , Aya K Takeda  2 , Tomoya Yamashita  1 , Ken-Ichi Hirata  1
Affiliations

Average gut flora in healthy Japanese subjects stratified by age and body mass index

Naofumi Yoshida et al. Biosci Microbiota Food Health. 2022.

Abstract

Imbalance of the gut microbiota plays an important role in the pathogenesis of various diseases. Although many clinical studies have analyzed the gut microbiota, the definition of normal gut microbiota remains unclear. In this study, we aim to establish the average gut microbiota in the healthy Japanese population. Using 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing, we analyzed gut microbial data from fecal samples obtained from 6,101 healthy Japanese individuals. Based on their ages, the individuals were divided into three groups: young, middle-age, and old. Individuals were further categorized according to body mass index (BMI) into lean, normal, and obese groups. The α and β diversities in the old group were significantly higher than those in the young and middle-age groups. The Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio of subjects in the obese category was significantly lower compared with those of subjects in the lean and normal categories in the young and middle-age groups. Genus Bacteroides was the dominant gut microbiota across all the BMI categories in all the age groups. Among the top ten genera, the abundances of Bacteroides, Bifidobacterium, Anaerostipes, Blautia, Dorea, Fusicatenibacter, Lachnoclostridium, and Parabacteroides were significantly lower in the old group than in the young and middle-age groups. The correlation network at the genus level revealed different microbe-microbe interactions associated with age and BMI. We determined the average Japanese gut microbiota, and this information could be used as a reference. The gut microbiota greatly differs based on the life stage and metabolic status of the host, and this gives rise to a variety of host-gut microbe interactions that can lead to an increased susceptibility to disease.

Keywords: 16S rRNA; Japanese population; gut microbiota; large cohort.

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Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Study population. BMI: body mass index.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Gut microbiota diversity at the phylum level. A. Shannon-Wiener index in the indicated groups. B. Shannon-Wiener index in the indicated groups. C. Bray-Curtis distances in the indicated groups. D. Bray-Curtis distances in the indicated groups. E. Distribution of gut microbiota at the phylum level in the indicated groups. F. Distribution of gut microbiota at the phylum level in the indicated groups. *p<0.05. ***p<0.001. L: lean; N: normal; O: obese.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
Gut microbiota at the genus level. A. Distribution of gut microbiota at the genus level in the indicated groups. B. Principal coordinate analysis at the genus level was performed to compare the distribution of the gut microbiota. C. Distribution of gut microbiota at the genus level in the indicated groups. D. Principal coordinate analysis at the genus level in the indicated groups. L: lean; N: normal; O: obese.
Fig. 4.
Fig. 4.
Gut microbial network correlation at the genus level. Microbe-microbe interactions were analyzed at the genus level. The blue and red lines indicate positive and negative correlations, respectively. Gut microbiota were placed according to their phylum-level classifications. A. Data of subjects in the young group. B. Data of subjects in the middle-age group. C. Data of subjects in the old group.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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