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Abstract
BackgroundIn humans it is unknown if the composition of the gut microbiota alters the risk of Plasmodium falciparum infection or the risk of developing febrile malaria once P. falciparum infection is established. Here we collected stool samples from a cohort composed of 195 Malian children and adults just prior to an intense P. falciparum transmission season. We assayed these samples using massively parallel sequencing of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene to identify the composition of the gut bacterial communities in these individuals. During the ensuing 6-month P. falciparum transmission season we examined the relationship between the stool microbiota composition of individuals in this cohort and their prospective risk of both P. falciparum infection and febrile malaria.ResultsConsistent with prior studies, stool microbial diversity in the present cohort increased with age, although the overall microbiota profile was distinct from cohorts in other regions of Africa, Asia and North America. Age-adjusted Cox regression analysis revealed a significant association between microbiota composition and the prospective risk of P. falciparum infection; however, no relationship was observed between microbiota composition and the risk of developing febrile malaria once P. falciparum infection was established.ConclusionsThese findings underscore the diversity of gut microbiota across geographic regions, and suggest that strategic modulation of gut microbiota composition could decrease the risk of P. falciparum infection in malaria-endemic areas, potentially as an adjunct to partially effective malaria vaccines.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12864-015-1819-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
In humans it is unknown if the composition of the gut microbiota alters the risk of Plasmodium falciparum infection or the risk of developing febrile malaria once P. falciparum infection is established
In a prospective cohort study we examined the relationship between the gut microbiota composition of these individuals and their subsequent risk of P. falciparum infection and febrile malaria
Age-adjusted Cox regression analysis revealed a significant association between the microbiota composition before the malaria season and the prospective risk of P. falciparum infection during the ensuing malaria season, while no relationship was observed between microbiota composition and the risk of developing febrile malaria once P. falciparum infection was established
Summary
In humans it is unknown if the composition of the gut microbiota alters the risk of Plasmodium falciparum infection or the risk of developing febrile malaria once P. falciparum infection is established. We collected stool samples from a cohort composed of 195 Malian children and adults just prior to an intense P. falciparum transmission season. We assayed these samples using massively parallel sequencing of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene to identify the composition of the gut bacterial communities in these individuals. During the ensuing 6-month P. falciparum transmission season we examined the relationship between the stool microbiota composition of individuals in this cohort and their prospective risk of both P. falciparum infection and febrile malaria. In 2013, there were approximately 198 million cases of malaria and an estimated 584,000 deaths, 90 % of which occurred in Africa, with children under 5 years accounting for 78 % of all deaths [17]
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