Cited by 869Gut microbiota and healthGenomics and Phylogenetic StudiesMicrobial Community Ecology and Physiology

Comparative metagenomics revealed commonly enriched gene sets in human gut microbiomes

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Kurokawa, Ken, Itoh, Takehiko, Kuwahara, Tomomi, Oshima, Kenshiro, Toh, Hidehiro, Toyoda, Atsushi, Takami, Hideto, Morita, Hidetoshi +12 more·2007·DNA Research

Abstract

Numerous microbes inhabit the human intestine, many of which are uncharacterized or uncultivable. They form a complex microbial community that deeply affects human physiology. To identify the genomic features common to all human gut microbiomes as well as those variable among them, we performed a large-scale comparative metagenomic analysis of fecal samples from 13 healthy individuals of various ages, including unweaned infants. We found that, while the gut microbiota from unweaned infants were simple and showed a high inter-individual variation in taxonomic and gene composition, those from adults and weaned children were more complex but showed a high functional uniformity regardless of age or sex. In searching for the genes over-represented in gut microbiomes, we identified 237 gene families commonly enriched in adult-type and 136 families in infant-type microbiomes, with a small overlap. An analysis of their predicted functions revealed various strategies employed by each type of microbiota to adapt to its intestinal environment, suggesting that these gene sets encode the core functions of adult and infant-type gut microbiota. By analysing the orphan genes, 647 new gene families were identified to be exclusively present in human intestinal microbiomes. In addition, we discovered a conjugative transposon family explosively amplified in human gut microbiomes, which strongly suggests that the intestine is a 'hot spot' for horizontal gene transfer between microbes.

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  • The representation of biochemical pathways in the collective genome of the gut microbiome is remarkably similar between healthy individuals, whereas species composition varies significantly.

    “Consistent with this model of microbial selection based on biochemical capacity, the representation of biochemical pathways in the collective genome of the gut microbiome is remarkably similar between healthy individuals, whereas the composition of the microbiome on a species level varies significantly.”

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Authors
Kurokawa, K., Itoh, T., Kuwahara, T., Oshima, K., Toh, H., Toyoda, A., Takami, H., Morita, H., Sharma, V. K., Srivastava, T. P., Taylor, T. D., Noguchi, H., Mori, H., Ogura, Y., Ehrlich, D. S., Itoh, K., Takagi, T., Sakaki, Y., Hayashi, T., & Hattori, M.
Affiliations
  • Nara Institute of Science and Technology (JP)
  • Mitsubishi Research Institute (Japan) (JP)
  • Tokushima University (JP)
  • Kitasato University (JP)
  • RIKEN (JP)
  • Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JP)
  • Azabu University (JP)
  • The University of Tokyo (JP)
  • University of Miyazaki (JP)
Corresponding author
  • Hayashi, Tetsuya
  • Hattori, Masahira
Venue
DNA Research
Published
2007
Volume
14
Issue
4
Pages
169-181
ISSN
  • 1340-2838 (ISSN-L)
  • 1756-1663
OpenAlex
W2127415562
Cited by
869
References
50
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 16 · 2024: 17 · 2023: 17 · 2022: 22 · 2021: 29 · 2020: 25 · 2019: 36 · 2018: 52 · 2017: 38 · 2016: 46 · 2015: 50 · 2014: 80 · 2013: 90 · 2012: 88
FWCI
22.01
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • DNA Research (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Tokyo Tech Research Repository (Tokyo Institute of Technology) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gut microbiota and health
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Genomics and Phylogenetic Studies
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology
Keywords
human gut microbiome, comparative metagenomics, gene enrichment, infant gut microbiota, interindividual variability, orphan genes, novel gene families, conjugative transposons, horizontal gene transfer, age-related microbial changes
MeSH terms
Adult, Child, Preschool, Female, Genes, Bacterial, Humans, Infant, Intestines, Male, Middle Aged, Phylogeny, Cluster Analysis, Sequence Analysis, DNA, Genomics, Gastrointestinal Tract, Metagenome

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