Cited by 278Gut microbiota and healthOral microbiology and periodontitis researchMicrobial Community Ecology and Physiology

Stability of the human faecal microbiome in a cohort of adult men

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Mehta, Raaj S., Abu-Ali, Galeb S., Drew, David A., Lloyd-Price, Jason, Subramanian, Ayshwarya, Lochhead, Paul, Joshi, Amit D., Ivey, Kerry L. +10 more·2018·Nature Microbiology

Abstract

Characterizing the stability of the gut microbiome is important to exploit it as a therapeutic target and diagnostic biomarker. We metagenomically and metatranscriptomically sequenced the faecal microbiomes of 308 participants in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. Participants provided four stool samples-one pair collected 24-72 h apart and a second pair ~6 months later. Within-person taxonomic and functional variation was consistently lower than between-person variation over time. In contrast, metatranscriptomic profiles were comparably variable within and between subjects due to higher within-subject longitudinal variation. Metagenomic instability accounted for ~74% of corresponding metatranscriptomic instability. The rest was probably attributable to sources such as regulation. Among the pathways that were differentially regulated, most were consistently over- or under-transcribed at each time point. Together, these results suggest that a single measurement of the faecal microbiome can provide long-term information regarding organismal composition and functional potential, but repeated or short-term measures may be necessary for dynamic features identified by metatranscriptomics.

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Authors
Mehta, R. S., Abu-Ali, G. S., Drew, D. A., Lloyd-Price, J., Subramanian, A., Lochhead, P., Joshi, A. D., Ivey, K. L., Khalili, H., Brown, G. T., DuLong, C., Song, M., Nguyen, L. H., Mallick, H., Rimm, E. B., Izard, J., Huttenhower, C., & Chan, A. T.
Affiliations
  • Harvard University (US)
  • Broad Institute (US)
  • Brigham and Women's Hospital (US)
  • University of Nebraska–Lincoln (US)
Corresponding author
  • Huttenhower, Curtis
  • Chan, Andrew T.
Venue
Nature Microbiology
Published
2018-01-15
Volume
3
Issue
3
Pages
347-355
ISSN
2058-5276 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2783226215
Cited by
273
References
48
Citations by year
2026: 16 · 2025: 29 · 2024: 43 · 2023: 36 · 2022: 31 · 2021: 43 · 2020: 43 · 2019: 17 · 2018: 15
FWCI
10.30
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Nature Microbiology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • Lincoln (University of Nebraska) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Massachusetts General Hospital
  • Crohn's and Colitis Foundation (454674, 563526)
  • National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (R01HL035464)
  • National Cancer Institute (R01CA202704, L30 CA209764, U01CA152904, UM1CA167552)
  • National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (K01DK110267, K24DK098311, P30DK043351)
  • National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (U54DE023798)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gut microbiota and health
  • Health Sciences › Dentistry › Periodontics › Oral microbiology and periodontitis research
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology
Keywords
fecal microbiota, within-person variability, between-person variation, metatranscriptomics, metagenomics, Health Professionals Follow-up Study, adult male, biomarkers
MeSH terms
Gastrointestinal Microbiome, Adult, Aged, Bacteria, Feces, Follow-Up Studies, Health Personnel, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Prospective Studies, Cohort Studies, Gene Expression, Gene Expression Profiling, Metagenomics, High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing, Microbiota

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