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. 2024 Nov 29;16(1):72.
doi: 10.1186/s13099-024-00661-5.

Investigation of gut microbiota composition in humans carrying blastocystis subtypes 1 and 2 and Entamoeba hartmanni

Lorenzo Antonetti  1 , Federica Berrilli  2 , Veronica Di Cristanziano  3 , Fedja Farowski  4   5 , Martin Daeumer  6 , Kirsten Alexandra Eberhardt  7 , Maristella Santoro  3 , Massimo Federici  1 , Rossella D'Alfonso  8
Affiliations

Investigation of gut microbiota composition in humans carrying blastocystis subtypes 1 and 2 and Entamoeba hartmanni

Lorenzo Antonetti et al. Gut Pathog. .

Abstract

The composition of human gut microbiota is dominated by bacteria which have been extensively studied. The role of intestinal eukaryote microorganisms like Blastocystis, however, remains under investigation. Moreover, the potential impact on gut health related to Blastocystis presence was primarily investigated in symptomatic individuals mainly from industrialized countries, and appears to be mostly beneficial to the host microbiota. Data from surveys conducted in underdeveloped countries with higher prevalence and from asymptomatic individuals could therefore be valuable. The aim of this preliminary study was to analyze the composition of the gut microbiota in relation to the protozoa Blastocystis ST1 and ST2 and Entamoeba hartmanni carriage in asymptomatic subjects living in a semi-urban area of Côte d'Ivoire to add data into the ongoing debate on the role of Blastocystis in host health. The amplification of the V3 and V4 regions of bacterial 16S rDNA genes was performed to obtain the gut microbiota composition, and differential analyses on alpha and beta diversity were performed from the phylum to genus taxonomic level. The analysis revealed that individuals positive for both protozoa exhibited higher alpha and beta diversity compared to those who tested negative. Additionally, their bacterial composition showed a reduction in Bacteroides and an increase in Prevotella 9. Relative abundances of some OTUs, particularly Faecalibacterium, observed in individuals who tested positive for protozoa, were correlated with a good state of health of the gut microbiota. Blastocystis ST1 and ST2 associated with E. hartmanni thus appeared to be related to a state of intestinal eubiosis.

Keywords: Asymptomatic carrying; Côte d’Ivoire; Enterotype; Eubiosis; Eukaryome.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: The scientific reasons and the protocol of the study were reviewed and approved by the Medical Director of the Don Orione Center in Bonoua and all Directors of each service on the date 20.01.2014. This research was conducted without any “Invasive act”, affecting the physical, psychological, or moral integrity of the participants. The identity of each participant was protected by the attribution of an anonymous code to each stool sample collected. All experiments were performed following the ethical standards established by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), and the Declaration of Helsinki (1964), and its successive amendments were complied with. Consent for publication: Participation of adults and children occurred voluntarily. A verbal agreement on the methods and purposes of the study was acquired before proceeding with sampling collection by adults and parents/guardians of children. A local dialect interpreter of dialect was used to explain the study’s aims, procedures, and significance when necessary. All participants were assured that all data were analyzed anonymously, and the human biological sample would provide data exclusively on intestinal microorganisms and not on human tissues. Competing interest: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
PCoA unweighted UniFrac with 95% confidence ellipses showing the significant distances among the control group A and Blastocystis positive groups C and D; A: OTUs level; B: genus level. Samples M65 and M68 are located in the lower right quadrant of the diagram. (A); sample M25 is situated in the upper left quadrant (B)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Alpha diversity indices at the OTUs level among Blastocystis ST1 and ST2 carriers (C1, D1, D2) and the control group (A). Only differences between D1 and D2 versus A in Observed, Chao1, ACE, Shannon, and Fisher indices were statistically significant (p < 0.05)
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Bar-plot analysis shows the genus Top 20 abundances in A, C1, D1, and D2 groups
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Heat tree analysis depicting gut microbiota variations in comparison D1 versus D2. The color and size of edges and nodes are proportional to the abundance of organisms in each taxonomic category. Only significant taxa are labeled. The blue and red color of nodes and edges indicate a reduction and an increase respectively in the group D1. Unclultured taxa has not been included in the plot for better readability
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