Comparison of Japanese and Indian intestinal microbiota shows diet-dependent interaction between bacteria and fungi

Abstract

The bacterial species living in the gut mediate many aspects of biological processes such as nutrition and activation of adaptive immunity. In addition, commensal fungi residing in the intestine also influence host health. Although the interaction of bacterium and fungus has been shown, its precise mechanism during colonization of the human intestine remains largely unknown. Here, we show interaction between bacterial and fungal species for utilization of dietary components driving their efficient growth in the intestine. Next generation sequencing of fecal samples from Japanese and Indian adults revealed differential patterns of bacterial and fungal composition. In particular, Indians, who consume more plant polysaccharides than Japanese, harbored increased numbers of Prevotella and Candida. Candida spp. showed strong growth responses to the plant polysaccharide arabinoxylan in vitro. Furthermore, the culture supernatants of Candida spp. grown with arabinoxylan promoted rapid proliferation of Prevotella copri. Arabinose was identified as a potential growth-inducing factor in the Candida culture supernatants. Candida spp. exhibited a growth response to xylose, but not to arabinose, whereas P. copri proliferated in response to both xylose and arabinose. Candida spp., but not P. copri, colonized the intestine of germ-free mice. However, P. copri successfully colonized mouse intestine already harboring Candida. These findings demonstrate a proof of concept that fungal members of gut microbiota can facilitate a colonization of the intestine by their bacterial counterparts, potentially mediated by a dietary metabolite.

Gut microbiota modulation with long-chain corn bran arabinoxylan in adults with overweight and obesity is linked to an individualized temporal increase in fecal propionate

“…This crossfeeding would explain the strong positive associations between B. longum and the other OTUs within CARG1. In contrast, P. copri also increased and is likely a primary degrader of arabinoxylan [34,39], but showed only one strong correlation within CARG6, suggesting the bacterium behaves "selfishly." Our findings suggest that no singular "keystone species" initiates the degradation of arabinoxylan, as it has been described for type-III resistant starches [17].…”

Gut microbiota of obese and diabetic Thai subjects and interplay with dietary habits and blood profiles

“…The differences in gut microbiota have been previously reported in representative Indian and Chinese subjects, as well as, Japanese populations. Variability in diets across Asia along with its geographically unique pattern contributes substantially to differences in the composition of gut bacteria communities observed in diverse Asian populations and/or ethnicities (Senghor et al, 2018;Jain, Li & Chen, 2018;Pareek et al, 2019). Notably, consumption of some types of foods (chicken, rice vermicelli, and fermented fruits or vegetables) was considerably lower in T2DM subjects than in any of the BMI groups.…”

Diet, Gut Microbiota and COVID-19

“…It has been observed that presence of more plant polysaccharides in Indian diet as compared to that of Japanese leads to increased numbers of Prevotella and Candida in the gut of Indians. Moreover, Candida species were found to promote the proliferation of Prevotella when provided with arabinoxylan rich diet [16].…”