Fecal Microbiota Monitoring in Elite Soccer Players Along the 2019–2020 Competitive Season

Abstract

Physical exercise affects the human gut microbiota that, in turn, influences athletes’ performance. The current understanding of how the microbiota of professional athletes changes along with different phases of training is sparse. We aim to characterize the fecal microbiota in elite soccer players along with different phases of a competitive season using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Fecal samples were collected after the summer off-season period, the pre-season retreat, the first half of the competitive season, and the 8 weeks COVID-19 lockdown that interrupted the season 2019-2020. According to our results, the gut microbiota of professional athletes changes along with the phases of the season, characterized by different training, diet, nutritional surveillance, and environment sharing. Pre-season retreat, during which nutritional surveillance and exercise intensity were at their peak, caused a decrease in bacterial groups related to unhealthy lifestyle and an increase in health-promoting symbionts. The competitive season and forced interruption affected other features of the athletes’ microbiota, i.e. bacterial groups that respond to dietary fibers load and stress levels. Our longitudinal study, focusing on one of the most followed sports worldwide, provides baseline data for future comparisons and microbiome-targeting interventions aimed at developing personalized training and nutrition plans for performances maximization.

An Exploratory Study on Seasonal Variation in the Gut Microbiota of Athletes: Insights from Japanese Handball Players

“…Further studies with larger sample sizes are needed to confirm these findings and to better understand the changes in gut microbiota throughout an athletic season. Among the limited studies in this area, one report examined the changes in the gut microbiota of professional soccer players during the season [20] and found that the most variation occurred at the start of the season. Taking this into consideration, the beginning of an athletic season could be interpreted as the time when the modified gut microbiota associated with the off-season is returning to the state associated with the athletic season.…”

Seasonal Variation in the Gut Microbiota of Athletes: A Comparative Study of Japanese Handball Players

“…This suggests potential changes in the gut microbiota of athletes throughout a season. Among the limited studies in this area, one report examined the changes in gut microbiota of professional soccer players during the season [19] and found that the most variation occurred at the start of the season. Taking this into consideration, the beginning of an athletic season could be interpreted as the time when the modified gut microbiota associated with the off-season is returning to the state associated with the athletic season.…”

Consumption of only wild foods induces large-scale, partially-persistent alterations to the gut microbiome

“…All specimens were stored at -20°C until processing. Total microbial DNA for each fecal sample was extracted through a method combining bead-beating and column purification, as described previously [15].…”