Reconstruction of the Metabolic Activity of the Intestinal Microbiota in Children and Adults with Obesity and its Relationship with the Representation of Alkylresorcinols in Feces

Abstract

The human body is a superorganism that depends on the trillions of microbial cells that inhabit it. Developing along with the host during evolution, the microbiota forms the phenotypes of our ancestors. Mutations that arose in the process of natural selection led to the joint evolution of the host organism and microbial cells to environmental conditions and the development of adaptability to this environment. The composition and metabolic activity of the intestinal microbiota are found in various manifestations of processes, as well as in the development of pathological conditions and dysmetabolic diseases, including obesity. Alkylresorcinols (AR) are biologically active polyphenolic compounds of microbial origin that have the ability to highly influence host metabolism and the composition of their microbiota. In the present study, we performed metagenomic sequencing of microbial DNA isolated from the stool samples of 401 metabolically healthy and obese children and adults, and also determined the content of various AR homologues in these samples. Based on high-throughput sequencing data, we reconstructed the metabolic potential of the intestinal microbiota and assessed the correlations between the content of various AR homologues and the abundance of microbial enzymes. Based on the results obtained, we observed the features of functional changes in the intestinal microbiota observed in adults and children with obesity.