Different Gut Microbial Profiles in Sub-Saharan African and South Asian Women of Childbearing Age Are Primarily Associated With Dietary Intakes.

Minghua Tang,Adrien Lokangaka,Daniel N Frank,Diana Ir,Jennifer F Kemp,Sangappa M Dhaded,Audrey E Hendricks,Shivaprasad S Goudar,Manjunath S Somannavar,Charles E Robertson,Rebecca L Lander,K Michael Hambidge,Jamie E Westcott,Antoinette Tshefu,Nancy F Krebs

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2019.01848

Abstract

BackgroundTo compare and characterize the gut microbiota in women of childbearing age from sub-Saharan Africa (the Democratic Republic of the Congo, DRC) and South Asia (India), in relation to dietary intakes.MethodsWomen of childbearing age were recruited from rural DRC and India as part of the Women First (WF) preconception maternal nutrition trial. Findings presented include fecal 16S rRNA gene-based profiling of women in the WF trial from samples obtained at the time of randomization, prior to initiation of nutrition intervention and to conception.ResultsStool samples were collected from 217 women (DRC n = 117; India n = 100). Alpha diversity of the gut microbiota was higher in DRC than in India (Chao1: 91 ± 11 vs. 82 ± 12, P = 6.58E-07). The gut microbial community structure was not significantly affected by any demographical or environmental variables, such as maternal BMI, education, and water source. Prevotella, Succinivibrio, and Roseburia were at relatively high abundance without differences between sites. Bifidobacterium was higher in India (4.95 ± 1.0%) than DRC (0.3 ± 0.1%; P = 2.71E-27), as was Lactobacillus (DRC: 0.2 ± 0.0%; India: 1.2 ± 0.1%; P = 2.39E-13) and Faecalibacterium (DRC: 6.0 ± 1.7%; India: 8.4 ± 2.9%; P = 6.51E-7). Ruminococcus was higher in DRC (2.3 ± 0.7%) than in India (1.8 ± 0.4%; P = 3.24E-5) and was positively associated with consumption of flesh foods. Succinivibrio was positively associated with dairy intake in India and fish/insects in DRC. Faecalibacterium was positively associated with vitamin A-rich fruits and vegetables. Overall, these observations were consistent with India being primarily vegetarian with regular fermented dairy consumption and DRC regularly consuming animal-flesh foods.ConclusionConsumption of animal-flesh foods and fermented dairy foods were independently associated with the gut microbiota while demographic variables were not, suggesting that diet may have a stronger association with microbiota than demographic characteristics.

Highlights

The gut microbiota plays a critical role in human health and disease (Turnbaugh et al, 2006, 2009), and can be impacted by multiple factors, such as diet, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and geographical locations (Gupta et al, 2017)
Women of childbearing age were recruited from rural DRC (Equateur Province) and India (Belagavi, Karnataka) as part of the Women First (WF) preconception maternal nutrition trial (Hambidge et al, 2014, 2019)
Stool samples were collected at baseline from a random sample of n = 217 women (DRC n = 117; India n = 100)

Summary

Introduction

The gut microbiota plays a critical role in human health and disease (Turnbaugh et al, 2006, 2009), and can be impacted by multiple factors, such as diet, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and geographical locations (Gupta et al, 2017). Compared with African Americans who consume a western diet, native Africans have higher fiber and lower protein intakes, which are associated with higher abundances of Prevotella and lower abundance of Bacteroides, and a lower risk of colon cancer (O’Keefe et al, 2007; Ou et al, 2013) These different microbial profiles have been reported in other studies comparing populations in two or more distinctive geographical locations such as Africa vs Europe/United States. To compare and characterize the gut microbiota in women of childbearing age from sub-Saharan Africa (the Democratic Republic of the Congo, DRC) and South Asia (India), in relation to dietary intakes

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