Can microbes increase exercise performance in athletes?

Investigation of the Ecological Link between Recurrent Microbial Human Gut Communities and Physical Activity

“…Indeed, if moderate exercises (50% to about 70% of the maximum heart rate) ( 6 ) have been reported to increase the overall gut microbiota’s (bio)diversity ( 7 ), prolonged endurance exercises (70% to about 85% of the maximum heart rate) ( 6 ) have been linked with an increased abundance of gut bacterial species producing short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) ( 8 ). In particular, members of the Veillonella genus, along with the metabolic pathways that this taxon utilizes for lactate conversion to propionate, have been detected with elevated abundances in athletes ( 9 ), thereby contributing to host metabolic efficiency by increasing energy availability, and thus ultimately influencing athlete performance ( 10 ). Moreover, a recent study involving professional and competitive unprofessional cyclists showed that a high training load of the cyclists corresponds to a high abundance of gut-associated Prevotella genus members ( 11 ).…”

Impact of intensive lifestyle intervention on gut microbiota composition in type 2 diabetes: a post-hoc analysis of a randomized clinical trial

“… 18 , 19 Recently, a study has linked extreme exercise (marathon running) with increased gut microbe Veillonella atypica , 20 although further validation is needed. 21 However, only few randomized clinical trials have evaluated the effects of regular exercise on the microbiome in human populations, especially in individuals with T2D, and in these studies, the effects of exercise have been limited. 22–24 …”