Abstract
There is an increased interest in the gut microbiota as it relates to health and obesity. The impact of diet and sex on the gut microbiota in conjunction with obesity also demands extensive systemic investigation. Thus, the influence of sex, diet, and flaxseed supplementation on the gut microbiota was examined in the JCR:LA-cp rat model of genetic obesity. Male and female obese rats were randomized into four groups (n = 8) to receive, for 12 weeks, either (a) control diet (Con), (b) control diet supplemented with 10% ground flaxseed (CFlax), (c) a high-fat, high sucrose (HFHS) diet, or (d) HFHS supplemented with 10% ground flaxseed (HFlax). Male and female JCR:LA-cp lean rats served as genetic controls and received similar dietary interventions. Illumine MiSeq sequencing revealed a richer microbiota in rats fed control diets rather than HFHS diets. Obese female rats had lower alpha-diversity than lean female; however, both sexes of obese and lean JCR rats differed significantly in β-diversity, as their gut microbiota was composed of different abundances of bacterial types. The feeding of an HFHS diet affected the diversity by increasing the phylum Bacteroidetes and reducing bacterial species from phylum Firmicutes. Fecal short-chain fatty acids such as acetate, propionate, and butyrate-producing bacterial species were correspondingly impacted by the HFHS diet. Flax supplementation improved the gut microbiota by decreasing the abundance of Blautia and Eubacterium dolichum. Collectively, our data show that an HFHS diet results in gut microbiota dysbiosis in a sex-dependent manner. Flaxseed supplementation to the diet had a significant impact on gut microbiota diversity under both flax control and HFHS dietary conditions.
Highlights
The alpha-diversity (Shannon index) was calculated for each sample (Figure 1). This diversity is a measure of richness and evenness
Consumption of a HFHS diet resulted in decreased microbial diversity
The results demonstrate that sex that alters microbial composition of the gut and a diet induces significant differences in the gut microcomposition of the gut and a HFHS diet induces significant differences in the gut microbiota biota diversity and profile of both male and female animals
Summary
Microorganisms 2021, 9, 1037 fatty acids (SCFAs) from indigestible fiber by bacterial fermentation [4], and (c) regulating intestinal transit, impacting the absorbable energy from the diet [5]. These essential roles highlight the importance of gut microbiota in metabolism and body weight. Obesity is a major public health concern and is increasingly being tied to the changes in gut microbiota composition [6]. Several studies have reported altered gut microbiota composition and reduced microbial diversity in obese individuals compared to normal weight adults [7,8,9]
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