Cited by 6,176Gut microbiota and healthAdipokines, Inflammation, and Metabolic DiseasesOral microbiology and periodontitis research

Obesity alters gut microbial ecology

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Ley, Ruth E., Bäckhed, Fredrik, Turnbaugh, Peter, Lozupone, Catherine A., Knight, Robin D., Gordon, Jeffrey I.·2005·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Abstract

We have analyzed 5,088 bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequences from the distal intestinal (cecal) microbiota of genetically obese ob/ob mice, lean ob/+ and wild-type siblings, and their ob/+ mothers, all fed the same polysaccharide-rich diet. Although the majority of mouse gut species are unique, the mouse and human microbiota(s) are similar at the division (superkingdom) level, with Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes dominating. Microbial-community composition is inherited from mothers. However, compared with lean mice and regardless of kinship, ob/ob animals have a 50% reduction in the abundance of Bacteroidetes and a proportional increase in Firmicutes. These changes, which are division-wide, indicate that, in this model, obesity affects the diversity of the gut microbiota and suggest that intentional manipulation of community structure may be useful for regulating energy balance in obese individuals. The sequences reported in this paper have been deposited in the GenBank database [accession nos. DQ 014552--DQ 015671 (mothers) and AY 989911--AY 993908 (offspring)].

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Crossref · 10.1073/pnas.0504978102

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  • Most animal and human studies have reported that obesity and insulin resistance are associated with an altered ratio of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes.

    “Most of the animal and human studies have reported that obesity and insulin resistance are associated with an altered ratio of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes [8,9].”

    From Effects of Regular Kefir Consumption on Gut Microbiota in Patients with Metabolic Syndrome: A Parallel-Group, Randomized, Controlled Study (2019) · cites this paper as [8]

    The Results and Discussion report that obese ob/ob mice had fewer Bacteroidetes and more Firmicutes than lean mice. This supports the obesity–altered-ratio association in one animal study, but the paper does not establish what most animal and human studies report or link the ratio to insulin resistance; it says the obesity finding deserves exploration in humans. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Obesity has been associated with altered gut microbiota composition, reduced microbial diversity, and reduced gene richness.

    “Indeed, obesity has been associated with altered gut microbiota composition, reduced microbial diversity, and reduced gene richness (Le Chatelier et al., 2013; Ley et al., 2005; Turnbaugh et al., 2009).”
  • An increase in relative abundance of Firmicutes and a proportional decrease in Bacteroidetes were associated with the microbiota of obese mice.

    “An increase in relative abundance of Firmicutes and a proportional decrease in Bacteroidetes were associated with the microbiota of obese mice,23”

    From The gut microbiota and host health: a new clinical frontier (2016) · cites this paper as [23]

  • Microbiota from genetically obese mice can increase adiposity when transplanted into lean mice.

    “The altered microbiota that is observed in genetically obese mice11,12 is sufficient to promote increased adiposity in lean mice that receive a microbiota transplant12”
  • The Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio is higher in obese people compared to lean people.

    “Animal and human data have reported that the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio is higher (i.e., increased Firmicutes and/or decreased Bacteroidetes) in obese people compared to lean people [79–82].”

    From The athletic gut microbiota (2020) · cites this paper as [80]

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Sorted by citations

Authors
Ley, R. E., Bäckhed, F., Turnbaugh, P., Lozupone, C. A., Knight, R. D., & Gordon, J. I.
Affiliations
  • University of Colorado Boulder (US)
  • Center for Genomes Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63108; and Departments of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology and Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309
Venue
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Published
2005-07-20
Volume
102
Issue
31
Pages
11070-11075
ISSN
  • 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
  • 1091-6490
OpenAlex
W1971415551
Cited by
6,176
References
29
Citations by year
2026: 125 · 2025: 214 · 2024: 347 · 2023: 364 · 2022: 437 · 2021: 478 · 2020: 554 · 2019: 488 · 2018: 440 · 2017: 437 · 2016: 400 · 2015: 346 · 2014: 321 · 2013: 282 · 2012: 242
FWCI
26.83
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institute of General Medical Sciences (T32GM008759, T32GM142607)
  • National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (DK007130, DK070977, R01DK070977, T32DK007130)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gut microbiota and health
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Adipokines, Inflammation, and Metabolic Diseases
  • Health Sciences › Dentistry › Periodontics › Oral microbiology and periodontitis research
Keywords
obesity, gut microbiota, cecal microbiota, ob/ob mice, leptin deficiency, 16S rRNA gene sequences, Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, microbial community composition, microbial diversity, energy balance
MeSH terms
Cyanobacteria, Animals, Bacteria, Base Sequence, DNA, Female, Genes, Bacterial, Humans, Intestines, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Mice, Obese, Molecular Sequence Data, Obesity, Pregnancy, RNA, Ribosomal, 16S, Ecosystem, Mice

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