Cited by 951Gut microbiota and healthOral microbiology and periodontitis researchMicrobial Community Ecology and Physiology

Host lifestyle affects human microbiota on daily timescales

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David, Lawrence A, Materna, Arne C, Friedman, Jonathan, Campos-Baptista, Maria I, Blackburn, Matthew C, Perrotta, Allison, Erdman, Susan E, Alm, Eric J·2014·Genome biology

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Disturbance to human microbiota may underlie several pathologies. Yet, we lack a comprehensive understanding of how lifestyle affects the dynamics of human-associated microbial communities. RESULTS: Here, we link over 10,000 longitudinal measurements of human wellness and action to the daily gut and salivary microbiota dynamics of two individuals over the course of one year. These time series show overall microbial communities to be stable for months. However, rare events in each subjects’ life rapidly and broadly impacted microbiota dynamics. Travel from the developed to the developing world in one subject led to a nearly two-fold increase in the Bacteroidetes to Firmicutes ratio, which reversed upon return. Enteric infection in the other subject resulted in the permanent decline of most gut bacterial taxa, which were replaced by genetically similar species. Still, even during periods of overall community stability, the dynamics of select microbial taxa could be associated with specific host behaviors. Most prominently, changes in host fiber intake positively correlated with next-day abundance changes among 15% of gut microbiota members. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that although human-associated microbial communities are generally stable, they can be quickly and profoundly altered by common human actions and experiences.

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Crossref · 10.1186/gb-2014-15-7-r89

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  • Short-term, dramatic dietary interventions have demonstrated the ability to alter microbiota diversity quickly in humans.

    “Short-term, dramatic dietary interventions have demonstrated the ability to alter microbiota diversity quickly in humans [5].”
  • Mouse models have indicated that manipulation of macronutrient intake can consistently shift the composition of the gut microbiota within the span of a day.

    “Likewise, mouse models have indicated that manipulation of macronutrient intake can consistently shift the composition of the gut microbiota within the span of a day [5,6,18,19].”
  • One longitudinal study involving daily gut microbiota investigations of two individuals over the course of a year found that changes in fibre intake are positively correlated with a change in abundance of 15% of the microbial community the following day.

    “One longitudinal study involving daily gut microbiota investigations of two individuals over the course of a year found that changes in fibre intake are positively correlated with a change in abundance of 15% of the microbial community the following day [5].”

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Authors
David, L. A., Materna, A. C., Friedman, J., Campos-Baptista, M. I., Blackburn, M. C., Perrotta, A., Erdman, S. E., & Alm, E. J.
Affiliations
  • Harvard University (US)
  • Qiagen (Denmark) (DK)
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US)
  • École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (CH)
  • Broad Institute (US)
Corresponding author
Alm, Eric J
Venue
Genome biology
Published
2014-07-25
Volume
15
Issue
7
Pages
R89-R89
ISSN
  • 1465-6906 (ISSN-L)
  • 1474-760X
OpenAlex
W2103088074
Cited by
950
References
58
Citations by year
2026: 27 · 2025: 60 · 2024: 74 · 2023: 80 · 2022: 117 · 2021: 95 · 2020: 105 · 2019: 85 · 2018: 85 · 2017: 98 · 2016: 65 · 2015: 52 · 2014: 5
FWCI
30.09
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Genome biology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DSpace@MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • DSpace@MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • Infoscience (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) (submittedVersion)
  • Infoscience (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
Funders
National Science Foundation (0821391)
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
human microbiota, gut microbiota, salivary microbiota, host lifestyle, microbiota dynamics, daily fluctuations, microbial community stability, Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio, gastrointestinal infections, dietary fiber intake, host behavior
MeSH terms
Bacteria, Bacterial Infections, Developing Countries, Feces, Humans, Life Style, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Phylogeny, Saliva, Genetic Variation, Sequence Analysis, DNA, Developed Countries, High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing, Microbiota

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