‘Microbes in sport’ – The potential role of the gut microbiota in athlete health and performance
Abstract
The human intestinal tract is home to approximately 100 trillion microbes with the majority of these residing in the colon. Most microbes in the human intestinal tract are bacteria but archaea, fungi, protozoans and a large population of viruses are also present.1 These microbes have a vast array of functions including vitamin production, fibre digestion, interacting with the immune system2 3 and they contribute significantly to health and disease. Previously, it was only possible to study the human gut microbiota (GM; microbiota refers to the assemblage of microorganisms present in a defined environment) after first culturing the microbes on agar plates. Gut microbes have an extremely specific set of growth conditions in vivo that are difficult to recreate in a lab environment. Advancement in DNA sequencing technology has made it possible to study the genetic material of the microbes present and negates the need for culture.2 Increased understanding of the role of GM has led to innovative methods to alter gut microbe composition and subsequently GM function. Many factors have been shown to influence …
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The athletes' diet maintained significantly higher quantities of fibre intake.
“as previously presented, the athletes' diet maintained significantly higher quantities of fibre intake [29].”
From The microbiome of professional athletes differs from that of more sedentary subjects in composition and particularly at the functional metabolic level (2018) · cites this paper as [29]
Cites
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- Authors
- Rankin, A., O’Donavon, C., Madigan, S. M., O’Sullivan, O., & Cotter, P. D.
- Affiliations
- Sport Ireland Institute (IE)
- Teagasc - The Irish Agriculture and Food Development Authority (IE)
- Corresponding author
- Rankin, Alan
- Venue
- British Journal of Sports Medicine
- Publisher
- BMJ
- Published
- 2017-01-25
- Volume
- 51
- Issue
- 9
- Pages
- 698-699
- ISSN
- 0306-3674 (ISSN-L)
- 1473-0480
- OpenAlex
- W2581330921
- Cited by
- 38
- References
- 10
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 1
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Update notices
- correction (2018-04-13)
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- British Journal of Sports Medicine (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- HighWire Press Open Archive (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Research in the Cotter laboratory is funded by SFI through the PI award, "Obesibiotics."
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gut microbiota and health
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Probiotics and Fermented Foods
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Gastroenterology › Gastrointestinal motility and disorders
- Keywords
- gut microbiota, athletes, athletic performance, athlete health, microbiome, microbiome manipulation, DNA sequencing, immune system, vitamin production, fiber digestion
- MeSH terms
- Gastrointestinal Microbiome, Health Status, Humans, Sports, Athletic Performance, Athletes
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