Mycobiome in the Gut: A Multiperspective Review

Abstract

Human gut is home to a diverse and complex microbial ecosystem encompassing bacteria, viruses, parasites, fungi, and other microorganisms that have an undisputable role in maintaining good health for the host. Studies on the interplay between microbiota in the gut and various human diseases remain the key focus among many researchers. Nevertheless, advances in sequencing technologies and computational biology have helped us to identify a diversity of fungal community that reside in the gut known as the mycobiome. Although studies on gut mycobiome are still in its infancy, numerous sources have reported its potential role in host homeostasis and disease development. Nonetheless, the actual mechanism of its involvement remains largely unknown and underexplored. Thus, in this review, we attempt to discuss the recent advances in gut mycobiome research from multiple perspectives. This includes understanding the composition of fungal communities in the gut and the involvement of gut mycobiome in host immunity and gut-brain axis. Further, we also discuss on multibiome interactions in the gut with emphasis on fungi-bacteria interaction and the influence of diet in shaping gut mycobiome composition. This review also highlights the relation between fungal metabolites and gut mycobiota in human homeostasis and the role of gut mycobiome in various human diseases. This multiperspective review on gut mycobiome could perhaps shed new light for future studies in the mycobiome research area.

Fecal Fungal Dysbiosis in Chinese Patients With Alzheimer’s Disease

“…However, previous studies have mainly focused on the bacterial diversity and composition of the gut microbiota, while the fungal microbiota has not been explored extensively. Fungi are suggested to influence intestinal health and disease by suppressing the outgrowth of potential pathobionts, promoting immunoregulatory pathways, and modulating host metabolism ( Huseyin et al, 2017 ; Ni et al, 2017 ; Sam et al, 2017 ; Chin et al, 2020 ). Several clinical studies have identified a distinct fungal microbiota dysbiosis in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), primary sclerosing cholangitis, asthma, type 2 diabetes mellitus, chronic liver diseases, Parkinson’s disease and other neurological diseases, and even colorectal cancer ( Hoarau et al, 2016 ; Sokol et al, 2017 ; Forbes et al, 2018 ; Coker et al, 2019 ; Cirstea et al, 2020 ; Jayasudha et al, 2020 ; Jiang et al, 2020 ; Lemoinne et al, 2020 ; Qiu et al, 2020 ; van Tilburg Bernardes et al, 2020 ; Ventin-Holmberg et al, 2020 ).…”

I Like the Way You Eat It: Lemur (Indri indri) Gut Mycobiome and Geophagy

“…Primates' gut harbour a plethora of microbes, including archaea, bacteria and fungi, which play a crucial role in the digestion process, health and behaviour [8][9][10][11]. Despite the limited studies on primate mycobiome, indications are now accumulated on the fungi's important role in host physiology [12,13]. However, there is evidence that the primates' gut lacks a stable core mycobiome, unlike the bacterial microbiome [14].…”

Is There Scope for a Novel Mycelium Category of Proteins alongside Animals and Plants?

“…The antiaging effects of bioactive molecules isolated from fungi are also beginning to be identified [ 98 ]. Similarly, the role of fungal metabolites in the gut ‘mycobiome’ and its relation to the onset of human diseases is also gaining attention [ 99 ].…”