Abstract
No studies have investigated the influence of ethnicity in a multi-ethnic middle-income country with a long-standing history of co-habitation. Stool samples from 214 Malaysian community members (46 Malay, 65 Chinese, 49 Indian, and 54 Jakun) were collected. The gut microbiota of the participants was investigated using 16S amplicon sequencing. Ethnicity exhibited the largest effect size across participants (PERMANOVA Pseudo-F = 4.24, R2 = 0.06, p = 0.001). Notably, the influence of ethnicity on the gut microbiota was retained even after controlling for all demographic, dietary factors and other covariates which were significantly associated with the gut microbiome (PERMANOVA Pseudo-F = 1.67, R2 = 0.02, p = 0.002). Our result suggested that lifestyle, dietary, and uncharacterized differences collectively drive the gut microbiota variation across ethnicity, making ethnicity a reliable proxy for both identified and unidentified lifestyle and dietary variation across ethnic groups from the same community.
Highlights
No studies have investigated the influence of ethnicity in a multi-ethnic middle-income country with a long-standing history of co-habitation
A host of studies has established the differences in gut microbiota composition across different communities, which is attributable to a myriad of factors, from urban development[1] to regional[2] and seasonal variations[3,4]
Every ethnic group exhibited similar economic status, with most households in each ethnic group earning between RM1001–5000 monthly
Summary
No studies have investigated the influence of ethnicity in a multi-ethnic middle-income country with a long-standing history of co-habitation. Peters and c olleagues[7] found that variations in the gut microbiome across ethnicity likely resulted from incomplete acculturation of migrant groups All these studies have been conducted in a high-income country, where difference across ethnicity was partly attributable to recent migration events and their incomplete assimilation into the host nation. Malaysia represents a melting pot of multiple cultures and lifestyles introduced by its multi-ethnic population, forming a co-habiting cross-cultural community with parallel lifestyles[8,9]. This sets Malaysia as a valuable setting to investigate the impact of ethnicity across communities.
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