Dietary interventions alter the formation of the disease-associated
metabolite, trimethylamine (TMA), via intestinal microbial TMA lyase
activity. Nevertheless, the mechanisms regulating microbial enzyme
production are still unclear. Sequencing of the gut bacteria 16S rDNA
demonstrated that dietary intervention changed the composition of
the gut microbiota and the functional metagenome involved in the choline
utilization pathway. Characterization of the functional profile of
the metagenomes and metabonomics analysis revealed that a series of
Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes orthologous groups and enzyme
groups related to accumulation of methylglyoxal (MG) and glycine were
enriched in red meat diet-fed animals, whereas fiber-rich diet suppressed
glycine formation via the MG-dependent pathway. Our observations suggest
associations between choline–TMA lyase expression and MG formation,
which are indicative of a novel role of the gut microbiota in choline
metabolism and highlight it as a potential target for inhibiting TMA
production.