The intestinal mycobiota and its relationship with overweight, obesity and nutritional aspects

Abstract

Background The fungal community of the gastrointestinal tract has recently become of interest, and knowledge of its relationship with the development of obesity is scarce. The present study aimed to evaluate the cultivable fungal fraction from the microbiota and to analyze its relationship with obesity. Methods Samples were taken from 99 participants with normal weight, overweight and obesity (n = 31, 34 and 34, respectively) and were cultivated in selective medium, and the cultivable yeasts were identified by matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry. Anthropometric and biochemical measures were also evaluated. Results Eutrophic, overweight and obese groups presented concentrations of 1.6, 2.16 and 2.19 log10 colony‐forming units g–1 yeast, respectively. Ascomycota and Basidiomycota were the two identified phyla. At the genus level, Candida spp. showed a relatively high prevalence, and 10 different species were detected: Candida glabrata, Candida orthopsilosis, Candida lambica, Candida kefyr, Candida albicans, Candida krusei, Candida valida, Candida parapsilosis, Candida utilis and Candida humilis (with relative abundances of 71.72%, 5.05%, 21.21%, 6.06%, 29.29%, 27.27%, 8.08%, 16.16%, 1.01% and 2.02%, respectively). Conclusions The obese group presented a higher prevalence of Candida albicans. Furthermore, Candida albicans, Candida kefyr and Rhodotorula mucilaginosa showed a high positive correlation with obesity, weight gain and fat mass and showed a negative correlation with high‐density lipoprotein and lean mass, parameters related to weight loss.

Litchi chinensis seed prevents obesity and modulates the gut microbiota and mycobiota compositions in high-fat diet-induced obese zebrafish

“…62 The positive correlation of Candida spp. with weight and adiposity 57 was also shown in this study. Most of the fungi in obese zebrafish regulated by L. chinensis seed produce mycotoxins or show special metabolic capacities.…”

“…was reported to be enriched in obese individuals and positively correlated with weight and adiposity. 56,57 We also observed an increase in the proportion of Rhodotorula in obese zebrafish; however, it was negatively correlated with weight, BMI, and appetite in this study, which resulted from an increase in the proportion of Rhodotorula graminis in the HLSE and HLSW groups with a high anti-obesity effect. Rhodotorula strongly metabolizes short-chain fatty acids, which may lead to a shortage of short-chain fatty acids in the intestine; however, they may also produce many useful nutrients such as proteins, lipids, folate, and carotenoids.…”

Intestinal mycobiota composition and changes in children with thalassemia who underwent allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

“…Because dietary factors affect the gastrointestinal mycobiota throughout life, 39 our study population received a neutropenic diet after the procedure. Dietary and nutritional differences in cohorts could elucidate some of the interindividual variabilities.…”

Equine Grass Sickness (A Multiple Systems Neuropathy) is Associated with Alterations in the Gastrointestinal Mycobiome

“…Many of the fungi commonly considered to represent the human core GI mycobiota, including Candida, Saccharomyces, Penicillium, Aspergillus, Cryptococcus, Malassezia, Cladosporium and Trichosporon [36,41,42], were detected in the equine GI tract. The predominant fungal phyla in both equine and human GI tracts are Ascomycota and Basidiomycota, while Neocallimastigomycota, GI adapted anaerobic bre degrading endosymbionts, are abundant only in the horse [43,44]. Neocallimastigomycota are an essential part of the core mycobiota colonising the equine GI tract, but the composition of the remainder of the equine core GI mycobiota is unknown and cannot be determined from this study alone.…”