Fungal and bacterial microbiome dysbiosis and imbalance of trans-kingdom network in asthma

Abstract

Background Fungal and bacterial microbiota play an important role in development of asthma. We aim to characterize airway microbiome (mycobiome, bacteriome) and functional genes in asthmatics and controls. Methods Sputum microbiome of controls, untreated asthma patients and inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) receiving patients was detected using high throughput sequencing. Metagenomic sequencing was used to examine the functional genes of microbiome. Results 1. Mycobiome: α diversity was lower in untreated asthma group than that in controls. Mycobiome compositions differed among the three groups. Compared with controls, untreated asthma group has higher abundance of Wallemia, Mortierella and Fusarium. Compared with untreated asthma patients, ICS receiving patients has higher abundance of Fusarium and Mortierella, lower frequency of Wallemia, Alternaria and Aspergillus. 2. Bacteriome: α diversity was lower in untreated asthma group than that in controls. There are some overlaps of bacteriome compositions between controls and untreated asthma patients which were distinct from ICS receiving patients. Untreated asthma group has higher Streptococcus than controls. 3. Potential fungal and bacterial biomarkers of asthma: Trametes, Aspergillus, Streptococcus, Gemella, Neisseria, etc. 4. Correlation network: There are dense and homogenous correlations in controls but a dramatically unbalanced network in untreated asthma and ICS receiving patients, which suggested the existence of disease-specific inter-kingdom and intra-kingdom alterations. 5. Metagenomic analysis: functional pathways were associated with the status of asthma, microbiome and functional genes showed different correlations in different environment. Conclusion We showed mycobiome and bacteriome dysbiosis in asthma featured by alterations in biodiversity, community composition, inter-kingdom and intra-kingdom network. We also observed several functional genes associated with asthma.

Fecal Fungal Dysbiosis in Chinese Patients With Alzheimer’s Disease

“…With the advent of deep sequencing technologies, the composition and diversity of the fungal microbiota has been revealed, deepening and clarifying our understanding of the roles and mechanisms of intestinal fungi in host homeostasis ( Iliev and Leonardi, 2017 ; Scheffold et al, 2020 ; Zhang et al, 2020 ; Zou et al, 2020 ). Recent studies have unveiled the potential roles that fungi play in modulating host immune homeostasis and inflammatory disease ( Standaert-Vitse et al, 2006 ; Wheeler et al, 2016 ; Sokol et al, 2017 ; Yang et al, 2017 ; Cirstea et al, 2020 ; Huang et al, 2020 ; Jiang et al, 2020 ). However, the fungal microbiota is still a novel and emerging topic of research that continues to lag behind the level of research and understanding we have of the bacteriome.…”

Early Life Microbial Exposure and Immunity Training Effects on Asthma Development and Progression

“…Therefore, perturbations on microbial composition (dysbiosis) can consequently alter immune development in mucosal tissues and lead to an increased susceptibility to asthma. Alterations in the microbiome in asthma are due to an association between changes in diversity and composition of lung microbiota along with modifications of functional genes ( 6 ). Besides that of the lung, nasal and bronchial microbiomes, asthmatic children also have alterations in the gut microbiome ( 7 ).…”

Diversity of Microbial Signatures in Asthmatic Airways

“…In the lower airway mycobiome based on sputum samples, untreated patients with asthma showed increases in Wallemia, Mortierella , and Fusarium and patients receiving inhaled corticosteroids showed higher frequencies of Fusarium and Mortierella than those in the healthy control group. 50 …”

“…49 In the lower airway mycobiome based on sputum samples, untreated patients with asthma showed increases in Wallemia, Mortierella, and Fusarium and patients receiving inhaled corticosteroids showed higher frequencies of Fusarium and Mortierella than those in the healthy control group. 50 Furthermore, hypersensitivity to certain fungal species, such as Aspergillus species, may result in allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) and has been reported in poorly controlled asthma. 51,52 When the BAL mycobiome was examined, Rhodosporidium, Pneumocystis, Leucosporidium, and submit your manuscript | www.dovepress.com…”