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The microbiome of professional athletes differs from that of more sedentary subjects in composition and particularly at the functional metabolic level
Open accessAbstract
Objective: It is evident that the gut microbiota and factors that influence its composition and activity effect human metabolic, immunological and developmental processes. We previously reported that extreme physical activity with associated dietary adaptations, such as that pursued by professional athletes, is associated with changes in faecal microbial diversity and composition relative to that of individuals with a more sedentary lifestyle. Here we address the impact of these factors on the functionality/metabolic activity of the microbiota which reveals even greater separation between exercise and a more sedentary state. Design: Metabolic phenotyping and functional metagenomic analysis of the gut microbiome of professional international rugby union players (n=40) and controls (n=46) was carried out and results were correlated with lifestyle parameters and clinical measurements (eg, dietary habit and serum creatine kinase, respectively). Results: Athletes had relative increases in pathways (eg, amino acid and antibiotic biosynthesis and carbohydrate metabolism) and faecal metabolites (eg, microbial produced short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) acetate, propionate and butyrate) associated with enhanced muscle turnover (fitness) and overall health when compared with control groups. Conclusions: Differences in faecal microbiota between athletes and sedentary controls show even greater separation at the metagenomic and metabolomic than at compositional levels and provide added insight into the diet–exercise–gut microbiota paradigm.
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“The impact of the athletes' increased protein intake compared to both control groups was evident in the metabolomic phenotyping results.”
§ The microbiome of professional athletes differs from that of more sedentary subjects in composition and particularly at the functional metabolic level > DISCUSSION
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“of the total 19,300 pathways, 98 were significantly altered between the three cohorts (p < 0.05)”
§ The microbiome of professional athletes differs from that of more sedentary subjects in composition and particularly at the functional metabolic level > Functional structure of the enteric microbiome correlates with athletic state
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“Furthermore, athletes have an enriched profile of SCFAs, previously associated with numerous health benefits and a lean phenotype.[33][34][35]”
§ The microbiome of professional athletes differs from that of more sedentary subjects in composition and particularly at the functional metabolic level > DISCUSSION
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“The relative abundances of pathways related to fundamental metabolic function-amino acid biosynthesis, vitamin biosynthesis, and lipid biosynthesis-were higher on average within the high BMI control group when compared to the athlete group.”
§ The microbiome of professional athletes differs from that of more sedentary subjects in composition and particularly at the functional metabolic level > DISCUSSION
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“Notably, from a functional perspective, the microbiota of the low BMI group was more similar to the athletes.”
§ The microbiome of professional athletes differs from that of more sedentary subjects in composition and particularly at the functional metabolic level > DISCUSSION
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“Comparing athletes to both high and low BMI controls, a greater number of pathways correlating to specific macronutrients with the controls suggests a shift in the dynamics of these varied metabolic functions.”
§ The microbiome of professional athletes differs from that of more sedentary subjects in composition and particularly at the functional metabolic level > DISCUSSION
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“SCFAs were also correlated with pathway relative abundances, with all SCFAs associating with considerably more pathways in the athletes versus the controls (Fig. 4C).”
§ The microbiome of professional athletes differs from that of more sedentary subjects in composition and particularly at the functional metabolic level > Correlating metabonomic and metagenomic results
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“Beta-alanine betaine was higher in both faecal and urine samples of athletes.”
§ The microbiome of professional athletes differs from that of more sedentary subjects in composition and particularly at the functional metabolic level > Distinct differences between host and microbial metabolites in athletes and controls
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“with the high BMI control group having the lowest average abundance scores across 31 metabolic pathway categories (the exceptions being Vitamin Biosynthesis (VB), Lipid Biosynthesis (LB), and Amino Acid Biosynthesis (AAB) categories).”
§ The microbiome of professional athletes differs from that of more sedentary subjects in composition and particularly at the functional metabolic level > Functional structure of the enteric microbiome correlates with athletic state
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“The athlete group had the highest mean abundance across 29 of the 34 metabolic categories”
§ The microbiome of professional athletes differs from that of more sedentary subjects in composition and particularly at the functional metabolic level > Functional structure of the enteric microbiome correlates with athletic state
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“Athletes' 1 H-NMR metabolic phenotypes were characterised by higher levels of trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO), L-carnitine, dimethylglycine, O-acetyl carnitine, proline betaine, creatinine, acetoacetate, 3-hydroxyisovaleric acid, acetone, N-methylnicotinate, N-methylnicotinamide, phenylacetylglutamine (PAG) and 3-methylhistidine in urine samples and higher levels of propionate, acetate, butyrate, tr”
§ The microbiome of professional athletes differs from that of more sedentary subjects in composition and particularly at the functional metabolic level > Distinct differences between host and microbial metabolites in athletes and controls
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In the paper
“Athletes have an increased abundance of pathways that-giving an equivalent amount of expression activity-could be exploited by the host for potential health benefit, including biosynthesis of organic cofactors and antibiotics, as well as carbohydrate degradation and secondary metabolite metabolism compared to both control groups.[32]”
§ The microbiome of professional athletes differs from that of more sedentary subjects in composition and particularly at the functional metabolic level > DISCUSSION
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [32] source
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In the paper
“Separation according to group membership was further illustrated through Principal Coordinate Analysis (PCoA), with statistical support of the significant separation between the athletes and both control groups (p < 0.05) (Fig. 2B).”
§ The microbiome of professional athletes differs from that of more sedentary subjects in composition and particularly at the functional metabolic level > Functional structure of the enteric microbiome correlates with athletic state
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“Roseburia was positively correlated with acetate (p = 0.004) and butyrate (p = 0.018) while Family XIII Incertae Sedis was positively correlated with isobutyrate (p < 0.001), isovaleric acid (p < 0.001) and valeric acid (p = 0.008)”
§ The microbiome of professional athletes differs from that of more sedentary subjects in composition and particularly at the functional metabolic level > Correlating metabonomic and metagenomic results
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“Furthermore, concentrations of propionate strongly correlated to protein intake while butyrate was shown to have a strong association with intake of dietary fibre (Supplementary Table 6).”
§ The microbiome of professional athletes differs from that of more sedentary subjects in composition and particularly at the functional metabolic level > Distinct differences between host and microbial metabolites in athletes and controls
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“Likewise, the CV-OPLS-DA models comparing faecal samples, although weaker than the urine models, reveal significant differences between athletes and controls by 1 H-NMR analysis (R 2 Y=0.86, Q 2 Y=0.52, Fig. 2D) and HILIC UPLC-MS positive mode analysis (R 2 Y=0.65, Q 2 Y=0.34, Supplementary Fig 2D).”
§ The microbiome of professional athletes differs from that of more sedentary subjects in composition and particularly at the functional metabolic level > Distinct differences between host and microbial metabolites in athletes and controls
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“Subsequently, large-scale functional dissimilarity between athletes and controls was determined and distinct patterns of pathway composition between groups were revealed”
§ The microbiome of professional athletes differs from that of more sedentary subjects in composition and particularly at the functional metabolic level > Functional structure of the enteric microbiome correlates with athletic state
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In the paper
“SCFA levels in faeces measured by targeted GC-MS showed significantly higher levels of acetate (p < 0.001), propionate (p < 0.001), butyrate (p < 0.001) and valerate (p = 0.011) in athletes relative to controls.”
§ The microbiome of professional athletes differs from that of more sedentary subjects in composition and particularly at the functional metabolic level > Distinct differences between host and microbial metabolites in athletes and controls
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In the paper
“By-products of dietary protein metabolism (mostly by microbes) including TMAO, carnitines, trimethylamine, 3-Carboxy-4-methyl-5-propyl-2-furanpropionic acid, and 3-hydroxy-isovaleric acid are all elevated in the athlete cohort.”
§ The microbiome of professional athletes differs from that of more sedentary subjects in composition and particularly at the functional metabolic level > DISCUSSION
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In the paper
“Each group was represented by distinct association profiles of the correlation between clinical measurements and metagenomic pathways.Dietary factors, sugars and other carbohydrates, as well as energy intake, provide the majority of the correlation for the control groups whereas the athlete group was predominantly correlated with CK, total bilirubin, and total energy intake.”
§ The microbiome of professional athletes differs from that of more sedentary subjects in composition and particularly at the functional metabolic level > [CfB], and Energy Metabolism [EM]) (Supplementary table 2).
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In the paper
“Similarly to these populations, the athletes' diet contained a significantly greater proportion of fish.”
§ The microbiome of professional athletes differs from that of more sedentary subjects in composition and particularly at the functional metabolic level > DISCUSSION
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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In the paper
“Two distinct blocks of proportionately discriminant correlations were observed with isobutyric and isovaleric acids, which were more abundant in the athletes while acetic and butyric acids were more proportionately abundant in controls.”
§ The microbiome of professional athletes differs from that of more sedentary subjects in composition and particularly at the functional metabolic level > Correlating metabonomic and metagenomic results
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In the paper
“Athletes were further characterised by lower levels of glycerate, allantoin and succinate and lower levels of glycine and tyrosine relative to controls in urine and faecal samples, respectively (Supplementary Table 3).”
§ The microbiome of professional athletes differs from that of more sedentary subjects in composition and particularly at the functional metabolic level > Distinct differences between host and microbial metabolites in athletes and controls
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In the paper
“The same clusters are observed when correlating with individual taxa, in support of previously observed links between SCFAs and numerous metabolic benefits and a lean phenotype.[33][34][35]”
§ The microbiome of professional athletes differs from that of more sedentary subjects in composition and particularly at the functional metabolic level > DISCUSSION
What the sources say
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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In the paper
“Diversity measures are statistically significant between low BMI and athletes (p < 0.049), with statistical significance between all groups (Kruskal Wallis p < 0.05).”
§ The microbiome of professional athletes differs from that of more sedentary subjects in composition and particularly at the functional metabolic level > Additional information
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In the paper
“Furthermore, PAG positively correlates with the genus Erysipelotrichaceae Incertae Sedis, which we have previously noted to be present in relatively higher proportions in the athlete group compared to both control groups.”
§ The microbiome of professional athletes differs from that of more sedentary subjects in composition and particularly at the functional metabolic level > DISCUSSION
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In the paper
“Heat map of bacterial taxa (family, genus, and species level) that correlate with faecal short-chain fatty acid levels using Spearman's correlation.”
- Also stated in: § Additional information · plain
“All taxa shown had a correlation p-value < 0.01.”
§ The microbiome of professional athletes differs from that of more sedentary subjects in composition and particularly at the functional metabolic level > Additional information
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- Also stated in: § Additional information · plain
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In the paper
“Within the SCFAs, two distinct clusters were observed; acetic acid, propionic acid and butyric acid correlate with dietary contributors (fibre and protein), while isobutyric acid, isovaleric acid and valeric acid correlate with microbial diversity.”
§ The microbiome of professional athletes differs from that of more sedentary subjects in composition and particularly at the functional metabolic level > DISCUSSION
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In the paper
“associated with enhanced muscle turnover (fitness) and overall health when compared to control groups.”
§ The microbiome of professional athletes differs from that of more sedentary subjects in composition and particularly at the functional metabolic level > Results
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In the paper
“Elevated TMAO has been observed in patients with cardiovascular disease and atherosclerosis, highlighting a potential downside to increased protein intake.[15-17,22, 37]”
§ The microbiome of professional athletes differs from that of more sedentary subjects in composition and particularly at the functional metabolic level > DISCUSSION
What the sources say
hedgedcorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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In the paper
“On the contrary, the athlete microbiome presents a functional capacity that is primed for tissue repair and to harness energy from the diet with increased capacity for carbohydrate, cell structure and nucleotide biosynthesis, reflecting the significant energy demands and high cell-turnover evident in elite sport.”
§ The microbiome of professional athletes differs from that of more sedentary subjects in composition and particularly at the functional metabolic level > DISCUSSION
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In the paper
“Participants made no report of gastrointestinal (GI) distress or alterations of GI transit time throughout the course of the initial study.”
§ The microbiome of professional athletes differs from that of more sedentary subjects in composition and particularly at the functional metabolic level > RESULTS
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In the paper
“Approval for this study was granted by the Cork Clinical Research Ethics Committee.”
§ The microbiome of professional athletes differs from that of more sedentary subjects in composition and particularly at the functional metabolic level > Study population
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In the paper
“3-hydroxy-isovaleric acid (potentially from egg consumption) which has been demonstrated to have efficacy for inhibiting muscle wasting when used in conjunction of physical exercise.[40]”
§ The microbiome of professional athletes differs from that of more sedentary subjects in composition and particularly at the functional metabolic level > DISCUSSION
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [40] Stratton, 2006, Lymphocyte propionyl-CoA carboxylase and its activation by biotin are sensitive indicators of marginal biotin deficiency in humans, Am J Clin Nutr source
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In the paper
“All presented p values were corrected for multiple comparisons using the Benjamini-Hochberg False Discovery Rate (pFDR) method.[47]”
- Also stated in: § Metabolic profiling · plain
“P-values were adjusted for multiple testing using the Benjamini-Hochberg False Discovery Rate (pFDR) method.”
§ The microbiome of professional athletes differs from that of more sedentary subjects in composition and particularly at the functional metabolic level > Metagenomic statistical and bioinformatic analysis
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [47] source
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- Also stated in: § Metabolic profiling · plain
In the paper
“It is notable that PAG-a microbial conversion product of phenylalanine-has been associated with a lean phenotype, and is increased in the athletes.[42]”
§ The microbiome of professional athletes differs from that of more sedentary subjects in composition and particularly at the functional metabolic level > DISCUSSION
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [42] source
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In the paper
“The compound is also commonly used as a supplement by athletes to increase exercise-induced gains in muscle size, muscle strength, and lean body mass, reduce exercise-induced muscle damage, and speed recovery from highintensity exercise.[41]”
§ The microbiome of professional athletes differs from that of more sedentary subjects in composition and particularly at the functional metabolic level > DISCUSSION
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [41] source
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. It may state two separate claims as one.
The paper relies on this without support.
The control participants are representative of a more sedentary lifestyle than the athletes.
“The microbiome of professional athletes differs from that of more sedentary subjects in composition and particularly at the functional metabolic level”
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“These findings support the role of A muciniphila in metabolic regulation.”
From Influence of the Gut Microbiome, Diet, and Environment on Risk of Colorectal Cancer (2020) · cites this paper as [110]
In the citing paper
“For example, levels of SCFAs were significantly higher in athletes compared with controls,”
From Influence of the Gut Microbiome, Diet, and Environment on Risk of Colorectal Cancer (2020) · cites this paper as [110]
In the citing paper
“Among the individual species that differed between athletes and controls, A muciniphila was found to be enriched by 16s rRNA and metagenomic sequencing analyses, as well as in the metabolic pathway analysis.”
From Influence of the Gut Microbiome, Diet, and Environment on Risk of Colorectal Cancer (2020) · cites this paper as [110]
In the citing paper
“The athletes were found to have a more diverse gut microbiome than the controls.”
From Influence of the Gut Microbiome, Diet, and Environment on Risk of Colorectal Cancer (2020) · cites this paper as [110]
In the citing paper
“A high-fiber diet and exercise are associated with increased diversity of the gut microbiota and enrichment of short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), both of which have been implicated in improved survival following treatment with ICB”
From Hallmarks of response, resistance, and toxicity to immune checkpoint blockade (2021) · cites this paper as Barton et al., 2018
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Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.
Rated minor: it would not touch a result — a value no result rests on, a p-value that stays on the same side of the significance level, or a conflict that is clerical, resolved elsewhere in the paper, or outside its own findings.
In the paper
§ The microbiome of professional athletes differs from that of more sedentary subjects in composition and particularly at the functional metabolic level > Distinct differences between host and microbial metabolites in athletes and controls
“Levels of glutamine, 7methylxanthine, imidazoleacetic acid, isoquinoline / quinolone were lower in athletes' urinary samples relative to controls.”
§ The microbiome of professional athletes differs from that of more sedentary subjects in composition and particularly at the functional metabolic level > DISCUSSION
“Metabolites derived from vitamins and recovery supplements common in professional sports, including glutamine, lysine, 4-pyridoxic acid, and nicotinamide, are also raised in the athlete group.”
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Effect of Intensity and Duration of Exercise on Gut Microbiota in Humans: A Systematic Review
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“In this regard, one study fulfille 100% of the criteria [27], and seven studies fulfilled ≥75% of the quality criteria [7,9,13,27,28,31,33], cla sifying themselves as high quality.”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialImpact of Exercise on Gut Microbiota in Obesity
Aragón‐Vela, J., Solis‐Urra, P., Ruiz‐Ojeda, F. J., Álvarez‐Mercado, A. I., Arancibia, J. E. O., & Plaza‐Díaz, J. (2021) · Nutrients · doi:10.3390/nu13113999 · Cited by 91
“In addition, a sedentary lifestyle has materialized as a new risk variable for health, which is related to a high incidence of chronic diseases such as cancer cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes [64,67], with obesity being the main contributor to the development of these pathologies [5].”
BackgroundEffects of exercise frequency on the gut microbiota in elderly individuals
Zhu, Q., Jiang, S., & Du, G. (2020) · MicrobiologyOpen · doi:10.1002/mbo3.1053 · Cited by 84
Gut-muscle crosstalk. A perspective on influence of microbes on muscle function
Chew, W., Lim, Y. P., Lim, W. S., Chambers, E. S., Frost, G. S., Wong, S. H., & Ali, Y. (2023) · Frontiers in Medicine · doi:10.3389/fmed.2022.1065365 · Cited by 84
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“It has been suggested that creep in microbiota profile from any perturbation will result in a permanent change to homeostasis with sufficient time, and indeed cross-sectional literature does suggest that this may occur with exercise as active individuals and athletes more commonly present the characteristics of an ‘ac…”
BackgroundResultThe Athlete Gut Microbiome and its Relevance to Health and Performance: A Review
O’Brien, M., O’Sullivan, Ó., Claesson, M. J., & Cotter, P. D. (2022) · Sports Medicine · doi:10.1007/s40279-022-01785-x · Cited by 92
“noted an increased level of faecal SCFAs along with associated microbial SCFA-producing pathways in professional rugby players, when compared to sedentary controls [40].”
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“Specifically, the relative increases have been reported in amino acid and antibiotic biosynthesis, and carbohydrate metabolism, in professional international rugby union players compared to healthy controls.(8,16) Here, we also sought to identify differences in functional pathways among the AE, YE and YN cohorts in th…”
BackgroundCronin, O., Barton, W., Moran, C. P., Sheehan, D., Whiston, R., Nugent, H., McCarthy, Y., Molloy, C. B., O’Sullivan, Ó., Cotter, P. D., et al. (2019) · BMC Gastroenterology · doi:10.1186/s12876-019-0952-x · Cited by 82
“Indeed, high-intensity exercise may lead to superior metabolic benefits and might induce favourable changes in the bacterial microbiome in patients with IBD, similar to what has been observed in professional athletes [34, 35].”
ResultSelf-citationCataldi, S., Bonavolontà, V., Poli, L., Clemente, F. M., De Candia, M., Carvutto, R., Silva, A. F., Badicu, G., Greco, G., & Fischetti, F. (2022) · Biology · doi:10.3390/biology11030479 · Cited by 68
“works (n = 6) [11,37,39,40,43,45] investigated the effects produced on the GM following”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialBile acids at the cross-roads of gut microbiome–host cardiometabolic interactions
Ryan, P. M., Stanton, C., & Caplice, N. M. (2017) · Diabetology & Metabolic Syndrome · doi:10.1186/s13098-017-0299-9 · Cited by 70
“In line with this, clinical evidence that implicates diet [141] and exercise [142, 143] as potent factors in beneficially modulating the composition and functionality of our gut microbiome is now emerging.”
BackgroundMicrobiome and health implications for ethnic minorities after enforced lifestyle changes
Keohane, D. M., Ghosh, T. S., Jeffery, I. B., Molloy, M. G., O’Toole, P. W., & Shanahan, F. (2020) · Nature Medicine · doi:10.1038/s41591-020-0963-8 · Cited by 89
Self-citationSong, M., & Chan, A. T. (2018) · Gastroenterology · doi:10.1053/j.gastro.2018.07.038 · Cited by 70
“Compared with healthy controls with similar body mass index, professional athletes have been found to have a more diverse fecal microbiota and enrichment of metabolic pathways related to production of secondary metabolites with immune benefits, such as short-chain fatty acid (SCFA).(10) SCFA, including butyrate, aceta…”
Hawley, J. A., Forster, S. C., & Giles, E. M. (2025) · Gastroenterology · doi:10.1053/j.gastro.2025.01.224 · Cited by 76
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“This was associated with enhanced fitness and overall health when compared with the control group (Barton et al., 2018).”
BackgroundCullen, J. M. A., Shahzad, S., & Dhillon, J. (2023) · Frontiers in Physiology · doi:10.3389/fphys.2023.1292673 · Cited by 76
“For example, professional rugby players were found to have greater alpha diversity (Clarke et al., 2014), and amino acid, carbohydrate metabolic pathways, and greater fecal short chain fatty acids (SCFA) (Barton et al., 2018) than sedentary individuals.”
BackgroundTacconi, E., Palma, G., Biase, D. D., Luciano, A., Barbieri, M., de Nigris, F., & Bruzzese, F. (2023) · Nutrients · doi:10.3390/nu15030563 · Cited by 62
“but it is quite evident that TMAO levels are also increased after exercise and sports [57].”
BackgroundMcGing, J. J., Radford, S. J., Francis, S. T., Serres, S., Greenhaff, P. L., & Moran, G. W. (2021) · Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics · doi:10.1111/apt.16465 · Cited by 60
The human gut microbiome of athletes: metagenomic and metabolic insights
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“05) (Table S3) (Table S4), thus confirming previous observations [19].”
BackgroundResultMagzal, F., Shochat, T., Haimov, I., Tamir, S., Asraf, K., Arieli, M., Even, C., & Agmon, M. (2022) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-022-05099-w · Cited by 71
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“Major host factors that have been reported to affect the gut microbial community structure include: age [8–10], ethnicity [11, 12], geography [13], host genetics [14], gender [15], and life style factors such as dietary habits [16], smoking [17], exercise [18], and medications of nonantibiotics [19] and antibiotics [2…”
BackgroundFlux, M. C., & Lowry, C. A. (2019) · Neurobiology of Disease · doi:10.1016/j.nbd.2019.104578 · Cited by 70
Effect of chronic exercise in healthy young male adults: a metabolomic analysis
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Microbiota and muscle highway — two way traffic
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Exerkines and cardiometabolic benefits of exercise: from bench to clinic
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“Professional athletes exhibit much higher gut microbial diversity than sedentary subjects, characterized by increased pathways related to amino acids and carbohydrate metabolism (Barton et al, 2018; Clarke et al, 2014; O ’ Brien et al, 2022).”
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The Gut-Prostate Axis: A New Perspective of Prostate Cancer Biology through the Gut Microbiome
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“Athletes had a higher diversity of gut microbiota and significantly higher proportions of the genus Akkermansia compared with individuals with high BMI, indicating that exercise can affect the gut microbiome [23].”
BackgroundRole of Oral and Gut Microbiota in Dietary Nitrate Metabolism and Its Impact on Sports Performance
González-Soltero, R., Bailén, M., de Lucas, B., Ramírez-Goercke, M. I., Pareja-Galeano, H., & Larrosa, M. (2020) · Nutrients · doi:10.3390/nu12123611 · Cited by 54
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An exercise intervention alters stool microbiota and metabolites among older, sedentary adults
Erlandson, K. M., Liu, J., Johnson, R. L., Dillon, S. M., Jankowski, C. M., Kroehl, M., Robertson, C. E., Frank, D. N., Tunçil, Y. E., HIGGINS, J. A., et al. (2021) · Therapeutic Advances in Infectious Disease · doi:10.1177/20499361211027067 · Cited by 53
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“Increased energy utilization and high cell-turnover in the athletic population necessitates a functional microbiome that optimizes energy metabolism from the diet (carbohydrate), including cell and nucleotide biosynthesis for tissue repair [90].”
BackgroundEarly-life effects of juvenile Western diet and exercise on adult gut microbiome composition in mice
McNamara, M. P., Singleton, J. M., Cadney, M. D., Ruegger, P. M., Borneman, J., & Garland, T. (2021) · Journal of Experimental Biology · doi:10.1242/jeb.239699 · Cited by 60
“For example, both rodent and human studies have reported increased butyrateproducing bacteria (Barton et al., 2018; Matsumoto et al., 2008), and also increases in taxa such as Lactobacillus (Batacan et al.”
BackgroundZhong, J., Lan, W.-T., Feng, Y., Li, Y., Shen, Y.-Y., Gong, J.-H., Zou, Z., & Hou, X. (2023) · Frontiers in Physiology · doi:10.3389/fphys.2023.1077821 · Cited by 50
“, 2020), having an impact on a range of health parameters, including immunity, colonic epithelial cell integrity, and brain function and development (Barton et al., 2018; Tran and Mohajeri, 2021).”
BackgroundChen, X., Tao, L., Ru, Y., et al. (2019) · International Journal of Biological Macromolecules · doi:10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2019.08.097 · Cited by 51
Tingler, A. M., & Engevik, M. A. (2025) · Infection and Immunity · doi:10.1128/iai.00503-24 · Cited by 58
“The genus Akkermansia has further been shown to be enriched in athletes with a low body mass index (134, 135).”
Rettedal, E. A., Cree, J. M. E., Adams, S. E., MacRae, C. L., Skidmore, P. M. L., Cameron‐Smith, D., Gant, N., Blenkiron, C., & Merry, T. L. (2020) · Experimental Physiology · doi:10.1113/ep088744 · Cited by 67
“…of the gut microbes (Falony et al., 2016; Sekirov et al., 2008; Singh et al., 2017), there is also growing evidence that physical activity status (Barton et al., 2018; Bressa et al., 2017; Clarke et al., 2014; Estaki et al., 2016; Scheiman et al., 2019) and exercise training (Allen et al., 2018;…”
BackgroundThe impact of keto-adaptation on exercise performance and the role of metabolic-regulating cytokines
Sherrier, M. C., & Li, H. (2019) · American Journal of Clinical Nutrition · doi:10.1093/ajcn/nqz145 · Cited by 56
Major Depressive Disorder and Gut Microbiota: Role of Physical Exercise
de Souza, P. B., Borba, L. A., de Jesus, L. C., Valverde, A. P., Gil‐Mohapel, J., & Rodrigues, A. L. S. (2023) · International Journal of Molecular Sciences · doi:10.3390/ijms242316870 · Cited by 68
“Moreover, higher fecal levels of SCFAs have also been observed in athletes [201].”
BackgroundFu, H., Zhang, L., Fan, C., Liu, C., Li, W., Cheng, Q., Zhao, X., Jia, S., & Zhang, Y. (2020) · Microbial Biotechnology · doi:10.1111/1751-7915.13687 · Cited by 55
“It is also associated with a slim and healthy body (Barton et al., 2017).”
BackgroundThe relationships between rugby union, and health and well-being: a scoping review
Griffin, S. A., Perera, N. K. P., Murray, A. D., Hartley, C. R., Fawkner, S. G., Kemp, S. P. T., Stokes, K., & Kelly, P. (2020) · British Journal of Sports Medicine · doi:10.1136/bjsports-2020-102085 · Cited by 51
Bostancı, Ö., Mayda, H., Yılmaz, C., Kabadayı, M., Yılmaz, A. K., & Özdal, M. (2019) · Respiratory Physiology & Neurobiology · doi:10.1016/j.resp.2019.04.001 · Cited by 54
“Therefore, it may be hypothesized that exercise for the respiratory system may positively affect the pulmonary microbiome (Barton et al., 2018) and combat the negative effects of smoking (Han et al.”
Gut microbiota in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: a PREDIMED-Plus trial sub analysis
Gómez‐Pérez, A. M., Ruiz‐Limón, P., Salas‐Salvadó, J., Vioqué, J., Corella, D., Fitó, M., Vidal, J., Atzeni, A., Collado, L. T., Álvarez‐Sala, A., et al. (2023) · Gut Microbes · doi:10.1080/19490976.2023.2223339 · Cited by 55
Lin, C.-L., Hsu, Y.-J., Ho, H.-H., Chang, Y.-C., Kuo, Y., Yeh, Y., Tsai, S., Chen, C., Chen, J.-F., Huang, C., et al. (2020) · Nutrients · doi:10.3390/nu12071972 · Cited by 55
“Athletes have a higher short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) metabolism pathway [15], which involves digesting complex carbohydrates and fermentation in the colon.”
BackgroundLiang, R., Zhang, S., Peng, X., Yang, W., Xu, Y., Wu, P., Chen, J., Cai, Y., & Zhou, J. (2019) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0226240 · Cited by 53
“diversity in elite athletes was significantly higher than that in sedentary individuals [9,10].”
BackgroundResultInfluentialWang, R., Cai, Y., Lu, W., Zhang, R., Shao, R., Yau, S., Stubbs, B., McIntyre, R. S., Su, K., Xu, G., et al. (2022) · Psychiatry Research · doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2022.115005 · Cited by 51
Sex-dependent associations between addiction-related behaviors and the microbiome in outbred rats
Peterson, V. L., Richards, J. B., Meyer, P., Cabrera‐Rubio, R., Tripi, J. A., King, C. P., Polesskaya, O., Baud, A., Chitre, A. S., Bastiaanssen, T. F. S., et al. (2020) · EBioMedicine · doi:10.1016/j.ebiom.2020.102769 · Cited by 63
“The gut microbiota consists of a myriad of bacteria, archaea, fungi, and viruses colonizing the host gastrointestinal tract and influencing many host systems, such as metabolism [8,78], immune function [47,53], hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis response, and brain [22,42,62,87].”
BackgroundSelf-citationLee, M., Hsu, Y.-J., Chuang, H.-L., Hsieh, P.-S., Ho, H.-H., Chen, W.-L., Chiu, Y., & Huang, C. (2019) · Nutrients · doi:10.3390/nu11092003 · Cited by 55
Erickson, M. L., Allen, J. M., Beavers, D. P., Collins, L. M., Davidson, K. W., Erickson, K. I., Esser, K. A., Hesselink, M. K. C., Moreau, K. L., Laber, E. B., et al. (2023) · GeroScience · doi:10.1007/s11357-022-00668-3 · Cited by 47
Unraveling the effects of the gut microbiota composition and function on horse endurance physiology
Plancade, S., Clark, A. P., Philippe, C., Helbling, J., Moisan, M., Esquerré, D., Moyec, L. L., Robert, C., Barrey, É., & Mach, N. (2019) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-019-46118-7 · Cited by 56
The Gut–Heart Axis: Molecular Perspectives and Implications for Myocardial Infarction
Rivera, K., González, L., Bravo, L., Manjarres, L., & Andía, M. E. (2024) · International Journal of Molecular Sciences · doi:10.3390/ijms252212465 · Cited by 51
“Cross-sectional studies in humans report that professional athletes have greater gut microbiota diversity, with a higher abundance of Firmicutes and a lower abundance of Bacteroidetes compared to lean sedentary controls [166,246].”
Carey, R. A., & Montag, D. (2021) · BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine · doi:10.1136/bmjsem-2020-000930 · Cited by 54
Furber, M., Young, G. R., Holt, G. S., Pyle, S., Davison, G., Roberts, M. G., Roberts, J., Howatson, G., & Smith, D. (2022) · mSystems · doi:10.1128/msystems.00129-22 · Cited by 43
“This issue has been previously highlighted (26) given that athletes consumed more total energy, fat, carbohydrate, and protein in comparison to less active controls.”
BackgroundLaboratory medicine: health evaluation in elite athletes
Lombardo, B., Izzo, V., Terracciano, D., Ranieri, A., Mazzaccara, C., Fimiani, F., Cesaro, A., Gentile, L., Leggiero, E., Pero, R., et al. (2019) · Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (CCLM) · doi:10.1515/cclm-2018-1107 · Cited by 46
Profiling the Oral Microbiome and Plasma Biochemistry of Obese Hyperglycemic Subjects in Qatar
Sohail, M. U., Elrayess, M. A., Thani, A. A. A., Al‐Asmakh, M., & Yassine, H. M. (2019) · Microorganisms · doi:10.3390/microorganisms7120645 · Cited by 39
“Two major contributors to microbiome diversity, food and physical activity, were constant in our study population [45].”
BackgroundAcute Sarcopenia: Mechanisms and Management
Damanti, S., Senini, E., LORENZO, R. D., Merolla, A., Santoro, S., Festorazzi, C., Messina, M., Vitali, G., Sciorati, C., & Rovere, P. Q. (2024) · Nutrients · doi:10.3390/nu16203428 · Cited by 53
Verheggen, R. J. H. M., Konstanti, P., Smidt, H., Hermus, A. R., Thijssen, D. H. J., & Hopman, M. T. E. (2021) · Obesity · doi:10.1002/oby.23252 · Cited by 56
“This is in contrast to cross- sectional work in athletes that demonstrated marked differences in the gut microbiota diversity when compared with inactive controls, suggesting a role for exercise as an influencer of gut microbiota diversity (32).”
ResultKlančič, T., & Reimer, R. A. (2019) · Journal of sport and health science/Journal of Sport and Health Science · doi:10.1016/j.jshs.2019.04.004 · Cited by 53
“integrity, brain function, and immunity.(98) This finding is consistent the findings of Estaki et al.”
BackgroundResultSwann, J. R., Rajilić-Stojanović, M. D., Salonen, A., Sakwińska, O., Gill, C. M., Meynier, A., Fança‐Berthon, P., Schelkle, B., Segata, N., Shortt, C., et al. (2020) · European Journal of Nutrition · doi:10.1007/s00394-020-02232-1 · Cited by 48
“Exercise level is another lifestyle factor known to impact on gut microbial composition [37] and participants planning on changing their exercise levels or intensity should be excluded.”
BackgroundThe gut microbiome and frailty
Piggott, D. A., & Tuddenham, S. (2020) · Translational research · doi:10.1016/j.trsl.2020.03.012 · Cited by 43
Zhao, J., Jung, Y., Jin, Y., Kang, S., Jang, C., & Lee, J. (2019) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-019-44052-2 · Cited by 41
Langsetmo, L., Johnson, A. J., Demmer, R. T., Fino, N. F., ORWOLL, E. S., Ensrud, K. E., Hoffman, A. R., Cauley, J. A., Shmagel, A., Meyer, K. A., et al. (2019) · The journal of nutrition health & aging · doi:10.1007/s12603-019-1194-x · Cited by 57
“One study found that the microbiome of professional athletes had a greater diversity than those of controls (15), and further differences were also noted in the associated functional profiles (16).”
BackgroundThe early-life gut microbiome in common pediatric diseases: roles and therapeutic implications
Bankole, T., & Li, Y. (2025) · Frontiers in Nutrition · doi:10.3389/fnut.2025.1597206 · Cited by 49
Gut-muscle axis mechanism of exercise prevention of sarcopenia
Li, T., Yin, D., & Shi, R. (2024) · Frontiers in Nutrition · doi:10.3389/fnut.2024.1418778 · Cited by 44
Cataldi, S., Poli, L., Şahin, F. N., Patti, A., Santacroce, L., Bianco, A., Greco, G., Ghinassi, B., Baldassarre, A. D., & Fischetti, F. (2022) · Nutrients · doi:10.3390/nu14163293 · Cited by 58
“Three years later, researchers involved in this work conducted a new study [30] through which they try to understand whether the taxonomic differences noted in their previous work [22] are reflected at the functional level.”
BackgroundInfluentialFernández, J., Fernández‐Sanjurjo, M., Iglesias‐Gutiérrez, E., Martínez‐Camblor, P., Villar, C. J., Tomás‐Zapico, C., Fernández‐Garcia, B., & Lombó, F. (2021) · Frontiers in Physiology · doi:10.3389/fphys.2021.748854 · Cited by 40
Liver Cirrhosis and Sarcopenia from the Viewpoint of Dysbiosis
Nishikawa, H., Enomoto, H., Nishiguchi, S., & Iijima, H. (2020) · International Journal of Molecular Sciences · doi:10.3390/ijms21155254 · Cited by 49
“Athletes presented a higher level of SCFA-producing bacteria and bacterial genes related to nutritional metabolism compared with sedentary controls [176].”
BackgroundAya, V., Jiménez, P., Muñoz, E., & Ramírez, J. D. (2023) · BMC Geriatrics · doi:10.1186/s12877-023-04066-y · Cited by 48
“Existing publications focusing on young adults and athletes show consistent results related to the production of SCFAs [63].”
BackgroundResultInfluentialSeeking the Psilocybiome: Psychedelics meet the microbiota-gut-brain axis
Kelly, J. R., Clarke, G. A., Harkin, A., Corr, S. C., Galvin, S. D., Pradeep, V., Cryan, J. F., O’Keane, V., & Dinan, T. G. (2022) · International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.ijchp.2022.100349 · Cited by 40
“Similarly, given the overlapping relationship between diet, exercise and the MGB axis, psychedelic therapy-induced reappraisal of maladaptive physical activity patterns could be primed by optimal diet-MGB axis signalling before psychedelic therapy and then maintained after psychedelic therapy (Barton et al., 2018; Cla…”
BackgroundMore than a gut feeling: What is the role of the gastrointestinal tract in female athlete health?
Pugh, J. N., Lydon, K. M., O’Donovan, C. M., O’Sullivan, Ó., & Madigan, S. M. (2021) · European Journal of Sport Science · doi:10.1080/17461391.2021.1921853 · Cited by 44
“demonstrated that the gut microbiome of athletes differs from non-athletes at a molecular and metabolic level (Barton et al., 2018).”
BackgroundInfluentialDietary Patterns, Gut Microbiota and Sports Performance in Athletes: A Narrative Review
Chen, Y., Yang, K., Xu, M., Zhang, Y., Weng, X., Luo, J., Li, Y., & Mao, Y.-H. (2024) · Nutrients · doi:10.3390/nu16111634 · Cited by 46
“It is worth noting that the trend observed in the Bacteroidetes to Firmicutes As depicted in Table 1, there were signi fi cant di ff erences in the major taxa at various levels between the two population groups. ratio attributed to several factors including substantial individual variance, human…”
BackgroundResultRodriguez, J., Neyrinck, A. M., Kerckhoven, M. V., Gianfrancesco, M. A., Renguet, E., Bertrand, L., Cani, P. D., Lanthier, N., Cnop, M., Paquot, N., et al. (2022) · BMC Medicine · doi:10.1186/s12916-022-02299-z · Cited by 55
“In addition, the gut microbiota composition differs in professional athletes compared to the gut microbiota from sedentary people [19, 20].”
BackgroundCheatham, C. L., Nieman, D. C., Neilson, A. P., & Lila, M. A. (2022) · Frontiers in Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnins.2022.833202 · Cited by 45
Diverticular Disease: a Gut Microbiota Perspective
Ticinesi, A., Nouvenne, A., Corrente, V., Tana, C., Mario, F. D., & Meschi, T. (2019) · Journal of Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases · doi:10.15403/jgld-277 · Cited by 48
“These favorable changes seem to be independent of diet and body composition [82], and professional athletes generally exhibit a different microbiome functionality than sedentary individuals [83].”
BackgroundToward a health-associated core keystone index for the human gut microbiome
Goel, A., Shete, O., Goswami, S., Samal, A., C.B., L., Kedia, S., Ahuja, V., O’Toole, P. W., Shanahan, F., & Ghosh, T. S. (2025) · Cell Reports · doi:10.1016/j.celrep.2025.115378 · Cited by 37
Self-citationZhang, Y., Cao, M., Li, Y., Chen, X.-X., Yu, Q., & Rui, Y. (2022) · Journal of Translational Medicine · doi:10.1186/s12967-022-03700-4 · Cited by 40
Barton, W., Cronin, O., García‐Pérez, I., Whiston, R., Holmes, E. C., Woods, T., Molloy, C. B., Molloy, M. G., Shanahan, F., Cotter, P. D., et al. (2020) · Translational Sports Medicine · doi:10.1002/tsm2.215 · Cited by 40
“Previous investigations have established enrichment of SCFAs in elite athletes [12], however this has 486 not been widely observed in other populations engaged in exercise, including the participants 487 presented here.”
BackgroundMethodSelf-citationGut microbial similarity in twins is driven by shared environment and aging
Vilchez‐Vargas, R., Skiecevičienė, J., Lehr, K., Varkalaitė, G., Thon, C., Urba, M., Morkūnas, E., Kučinskas, L., Bauraitė, K., Schanze, D., et al. (2022) · EBioMedicine · doi:10.1016/j.ebiom.2022.104011 · Cited by 47
Huang, L., Li, T., Zhou, M., Deng, M., Zhang, L., Yi, L., Zhu, J., Zhu, X., & Mi, M. (2022) · Frontiers in Microbiology · doi:10.3389/fmicb.2021.820691 · Cited by 42
“Several studies reported that endurance athletes had a higher abundance of Prevotella and Akkermansia, and a lower abundance of Bacteroidetes and Lactobacillus, accompanied by an accumulation of fecal SCFAs production (Clarke et al., 2014; Barton et al., 2018; Kulecka et al., 2020).”
BackgroundŠoltýs, K., Lendvorský, L., Hric, I., Baranovičová, E., Penesová, A., Mikula, I., Böhmer, M., Budiš, J., Vávrová, S., Grones, J., et al. (2021) · Frontiers in Physiology · doi:10.3389/fphys.2021.670989 · Cited by 37
Zoll, J., Read, M. N., Heywood, S. E., Estevez, E., Marshall, J. P. S., Kammoun, H. L., Allen, T. L., Holmes, A. J., Febbraio, M. A., & Henstridge, D. C. (2020) · American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism · doi:10.1152/ajpendo.00037.2020 · Cited by 35
Gut bacteria formation and influencing factors
Yang, J., Wu, J., Li, Y., Zhang, Y., Cho, W. C. S., Ju, X., van Schothorst, E. M., & Zheng, Y. (2021) · FEMS Microbiology Ecology · doi:10.1093/femsec/fiab043 · Cited by 36
Gut microbiota in surgical and critically ill patients
Ho, K. M., Kalgudi, S., Corbett, J.-M., & Litton, E. (2020) · Anaesthesia and Intensive Care · doi:10.1177/0310057x20903732 · Cited by 32
Zeppa, S. D., Amatori, S., Sisti, D., Gervasi, M., Agostini, D., Piccoli, G., Pazienza, V., Gobbi, P., Rocchi, M., Sestili, P., et al. (2021) · Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · doi:10.1186/s12970-021-00471-z · Cited by 35
“Among humans, positive correlations were reported between bacterial diversity, butyrate-producing bacteria and cardiorespiratory fitness (VO2max) [9], and higher turnover of carbohydrates and proteins, and concentrations of short-chain fatty acids in athletes compared to sedentary controls [10].”
BackgroundThe Specificities of Elite Female Athletes: A Multidisciplinary Approach
Castanier, C., Bougault, V., Teulier, C., Jaffré, C., Schiano-Lomoriello, S., Vibarel-Rebot, N., Villemain, A., Rieth, N., Scanff, C. L., Buisson, C., et al. (2021) · Life · doi:10.3390/life11070622 · Cited by 44
Targeting the Gut Microbiota to Treat Cachexia
Genton, L., Mareschal, J., Charretier, Y., Lazarević, V., Bindels, L. B., & Schrenzel, J. (2019) · Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology · doi:10.3389/fcimb.2019.00305 · Cited by 39
“The authors extended their analysis by applying metagenomic shotgun sequencing (Barton et al., 2018).”
BackgroundŠket, R., Debevec, T., Kublik, S., Schloter, M., Schöler, A., Murovec, B., Vogel‐Mikuš, K., Makuc, D., Pečnik, K., Plavec, J., et al. (2018) · Frontiers in Physiology · doi:10.3389/fphys.2018.00198 · Cited by 37
“Most studies thus far focused on the beneficial effects of reintroduction of exercise to obese population to alleviate these negative effects on one side, and to understand the effects of athletic overtraining on the other (Clarke et al., 2014; Barton et al., 2017).”
BackgroundLi, Y., Cheng, M., Zha, Y., Yang, K., Tong, Y., Wang, S., Lu, Q., & Ning, K. (2023) · mSystems · doi:10.1128/msystems.00259-23 · Cited by 33
Calabrò, S., Kankowski, S., Cescon, M., Gambarotta, G., Raimondo, S., Haastert‐Talini, K., & Ronchi, G. (2023) · International Journal of Molecular Sciences · doi:10.3390/ijms24098061 · Cited by 40
Soriano, S., Curry, K. D., Sadrameli, S. S., Wang, Q., Nute, M., Reeves, E., Kabir, R., Wiese, J., Criswell, A., Schodrof, S., et al. (2022) · Brain Behavior & Immunity - Health · doi:10.1016/j.bbih.2022.100438 · Cited by 35
“, 2021), and the microbiome of professional athletes was previously shown to differ from than of sedentary individuals (Barton et al., 2018).”
BackgroundZhuang, Y.-P., Zhou, H., Chen, H., Zheng, M.-Y., Liang, Y., Gu, Y.-T., Li, W., Qiu, W., & Zhou, H. (2023) · Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy · doi:10.1016/j.biopha.2023.115040 · Cited by 34
Intrinsic and Extrinsic Contributors to the Cardiac Benefits of Exercise
Hastings, M. H., Castro, C., Freeman, R., Kadir, A. A., Lerchenmüller, C., Li, H., Rhee, J., Roh, J. D., Roh, K., Singh, A. P., et al. (2023) · JACC Basic to Translational Science · doi:10.1016/j.jacbts.2023.07.011 · Cited by 36
Peng, J., Gong, H., Lyu, X., Liu, Y., Li, S., Tan, S., Dong, L., & Zhang, X. (2023) · Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology · doi:10.3389/fcimb.2023.1127041 · Cited by 37
“Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology 02 Professional athletes had relatively increased SCFAs compared with more sedentary subjects (Barton et al., 2018).”
BackgroundKulecka, M., Frączek, B., Bałabas, A., Czarnowski, P., Żeber‐Lubecka, N., Zapała, B., Bagińska, K., Głowienka, M., Szot, M., Skorko, M., et al. (2023) · Frontiers in Nutrition · doi:10.3389/fnut.2022.1092846 · Cited by 32
“To summarize, our findings confirm changes in the relative abundance of different taxa reported in professional rugby players (44), marathon runners (58), professional cyclists (68), and other sports persons (69), as well as in elderly healthy individuals with a lifelong history of endurance training (46) and premenop…”
BackgroundResultInfluentialCella, V., Bimonte, V. M., Sabato, C., Paoli, A., Baldari, C., Campanella, M., Lenzi, A., Ferretti, E., & Migliaccio, S. (2021) · Foods · doi:10.3390/foods10123075 · Cited by 49
“Accordingly, several studies reported a higher abundance of health-promoting bacterial species, increased microbial diversity, and functional/metabolic potential in gut microbiota of athlete populations [16,17,35].”
BackgroundMcKenna, C. F., Salvador, A. F., Hughes, R., Scaroni, S. E., Alamilla, R. A., Askow, A. T., Paluska, S. A., Dilger, A. C., Holscher, H. D., Lisio, M. D., et al. (2021) · American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism · doi:10.1152/ajpendo.00574.2020 · Cited by 38
Current knowledge and new challenges in exercise immunology
Alack, K., Pilat, C., & Krüger, K. (2019) · Deutsche Zeitschrift für Sportmedizin · doi:10.5960/dzsm.2019.391 · Cited by 32
Language, numeracy and logic in microbiome science
Shanahan, F., & Hill, C. (2019) · Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology · doi:10.1038/s41575-019-0163-5 · Cited by 41
Self-citationGut-spine axis: a possible correlation between gut microbiota and spinal degenerative diseases
Morimoto, T., Kobayashi, T., Kakiuchi, T., Esaki, M., Tsukamoto, M., Yoshihara, T., Hirata, H., Yabuki, S., & Mawatari, M. (2023) · Frontiers in Microbiology · doi:10.3389/fmicb.2023.1290858 · Cited by 32
The human gut microbiota is associated with host lifestyle: a comprehensive narrative review
Zeng, Q., Feng, X., Hu, Y., & Su, S. (2025) · Frontiers in Microbiology · doi:10.3389/fmicb.2025.1549160 · Cited by 51
Gut Microbiota, Microbial Metabolites and Human Physical Performance
Lensu, S., & Pekkala, S. (2021) · Metabolites · doi:10.3390/metabo11110716 · Cited by 32
“A further metagenome analysis of the subjects from the 2014 study [25] revealed that the GM genes of the professional rugby players were enriched for pathways involved in carbohydrate metabolism, amino acid and SCFA synthesis, and the differences between the groups were larger than those in microbial composition [29].”
Saha, B., Rithi, A. T., Adhikary, S., Banerjee, A., Radhakrishnan, A., Duttaroy, A. K., & Pathak, S. (2024) · Nutrition and Cancer · doi:10.1080/01635581.2024.2367266 · Cited by 39
Metadata
- Authors
- Barton, W., Penney, N. C., Cronin, O., Garcia-Perez, I., Molloy, M. G., Holmes, E., Shanahan, F., Cotter, P. D., & O'Sullivan, O.
- Affiliations
- Teagasc - The Irish Agriculture and Food Development Authority (IE)
- Imperial College London (GB)
- National University of Ireland (IE)
- Section of Biomolecular Medicine, Division of Computational Systems Medicine, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, London, UK
- Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre Microbiome Institute, University College Cork, National University of Ireland, Cork, Ireland
- Corresponding author
- Shanahan, Fergus
- ORCID
- Venue
- Gut
- Publisher
- BMJ
- Published
- 2017-03-30
- Volume
- 67
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 625-633
- ISSN
- 0017-5749 (ISSN-L)
- 1468-3288
- OpenAlex
- W2597526148
- Cited by
- 647
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 73 · 2025: 73 · 2024: 79 · 2023: 84 · 2022: 92 · 2021: 89 · 2020: 56 · 2019: 61 · 2018: 26 · 2017: 12
- FWCI
- 17.30
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- hdl.handle.net
- Locations
- Gut (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Cork Open Research Archive (University College Cork, Ireland) (submittedVersion)
- Arrow@dit (Dublin Institute of Technology) (submittedVersion)
- HighWire Press Open Archive (submittedVersion)
- Spiral (Imperial College London) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Science Foundation Ireland (11/PI/1137, 13/SIRG/2160, SFI/12/RC/2273)
- 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, professional athletes, rugby union players, physical activity, sedentary lifestyle, microbial metabolic functions, short-chain fatty acids, fecal metabolites, amino acid biosynthesis, carbohydrate metabolism, antibiotic biosynthesis, serum creatine kinase, functional metagenomics
- MeSH terms
- Gastrointestinal Microbiome, Feces, Feeding Behavior, Female, Humans, Male, Exercise, Body Mass Index, Case-Control Studies, Young Adult, Athletes
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