Gut Fungal Communities Research Articles

Elevated serum anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibody accompanied by gut mycobiota dysbiosis as a biomarker of diagnosis in patients with de novo Parkinson disease.

Intestinal inflammation and gut microbiota dysbiosis contribute to Parkinson disease (PD) pathogenesis, and growing evidence suggests associations between inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) and PD. Considered as markers of chronic gastrointestinal inflammation, elevated serum anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibody (ASCA) levels, against certain gut fungal components, are related to IBD, but their effect on PD is yet to be investigated. Serum ASCA IgG and IgA levels were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and the gut mycobiota communities were investigated using ITS2 sequencing and analyzed using the Qiime pipeline. The study included 393 subjects (148 healthy controls [HCs], 140 with PD, and 105 with essential tremor [ET]). Both serum ASCA IgG and IgA levels were significantly higher in the PD group than in the ET and HC groups. Combining serum ASCA levels and the occurrence of constipation could discriminate patients with PD from controls (area under the curve [AUC]=0.81, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.76-0.86) and from patients with ET (AUC=0.85, 95% CI=0.79-0.89). Furthermore, the composition of the gut fungal community differed between the PD and HC groups. The relative abundances of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Aspergillus, Candida solani, Aspergillus flavus, ASV601_Fungi, ASV866_Fungi, and ASV755_Fungi were significantly higher in the PD group, and enriched Malassezia restricta was found in the HC group. Our study identified elevated serum ASCA levels and enriched gut Saccharomyces cerevisiae in de novo PD.

Gut fungal community composition analysis of myostatin mutant cattle prepared by CRISPR/Cas9.

Myostatin (MSTN) regulates muscle development and body metabolism through a variety of pathways and is a core target gene for gene editing in livestock. Gut fungi constitute a small part of the gut microbiome and are important to host health and metabolism. The influence of MSTN mutations on bovine gut fungi remains unknown. In this study, Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) high-throughput sequencing was conducted to explore the composition of gut fungi in the MSTN mutant (MT) and wild-type (WT) cattle, and 5,861 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were detected and classified into 16 phyla and 802 genera. The results of the alpha diversity analysis indicated that no notable divergence was displayed between the WT and MT cattle; however, significant differences were noticed in the composition of fungal communities. Eight phyla and 18 genera were detected. According to the prediction of fungal function, saprotroph fungi were significantly more abundant in the MT group. The correlation analysis between gut fungal and bacterial communities revealed that MSTN mutations directly changed the gut fungal composition and, at the same time, influenced some fungi and bacteria by indirectly regulating the interaction between microorganisms, which affected the host metabolism further. This study analyzed the role of MSTN mutations in regulating the host metabolism of intestinal fungi and provided a theoretical basis for the relationship between MSTN and gut fungi.

Effects of spinetoram and glyphosate on physiological biomarkers and gut microbes in Bombus terrestris.

The sublethal effects of pesticide poisoning will have significant negative impacts on the foraging and learning of bees and bumblebees, so it has received widespread attention. However, little is known about the physiological effects of sublethal spinetoram and glyphosate exposure on bumblebees. We continuously exposed Bombus terrestris to sublethal (2.5mg/L) spinetoram or glyphosate under controlled conditions for 10days. The superoxide dismutase, glutathione-S-transferase, carboxylesterase, prophenoloxidase, α-amylase and protease activities, and changes in gut microbes were measured to understand the effects of sublethal pesticide exposure on the physiology and gut microbes of bumblebees. Sublethal pesticide exposure to significantly increased superoxide dismutase activity and significantly decreased gut α-amylase activity in bumblebees but had no significant effect on glutathione-S-transferase, carboxylesterase or gut protease activities. In addition, glyphosate increased the activity of prophenoloxidase. Interestingly, we observed that neither of the two pesticides had a significant effect on dominant gut bacteria, but glyphosate significantly altered the structure of the dominant gut fungal community, and reduced the relative abundance of Zygosaccharomyces associated with fat accumulation. These results suggest that sublethal spinetoram and glyphosate do not significantly affect the detoxification system of bumblebees, but may affect bumblebee health by inhibiting energy acquisition. Our results provide information on the sublethal effects of exposure to low concentrations of glyphosate and spinetoram on bumblebees in terms of physiology and gut microbes.

Gut Fungal Communities of Anser erythropus Wintering at Shengjin Lake and Caizi Lake in China

Gut Fungal Communities of Anser erythropus Wintering at Shengjin Lake and Caizi Lake in China

Gut mycobiome dysbiosis contributes to the development of hypertension and its response to immunoglobulin light chains.

Human gut microbiome has gained great attention for its proposed roles in the development of hypertension. The fungal microbiome in the human gut (i.e. the mycobiome) is beginning to gain recognition as a fundamental part of our microbiome. However, the existing knowledge of human mycobiome has never revealed the association between gut mycobiome and hypertension. It is known that inflammation and immunity contribute to human hypertension. Here, we sought to investigate whether gut mycobiome could predict the development of hypertension and its association with immunoglobulin light chains. Participants were classified into three cohorts: prehypertension (pre-HTN), hypertension (HTN), and normal-tension (NT) based on their blood pressure. Fresh samples were collected, and the ITS transcribed spacer ribosomal RNA gene sequence was performed. An immunoturbidimetric test was used to examine the serum levels of immunological light chains. Subjects in both of the states of pre-HTN and HTN had different fungal microbiome community compared to the NT group (FDR<0.05). Slightly higher levels of fungal richness and diversity were observed in the groups of pre-HTN and HTN. The relative abundance of Malassezia increased in the HTN group compared to that in the NT group, and the relative abundance of Mortierella enriched in the NT group. For the pre-HTN group, the relative abundance of Malassezia was positively associated with serum the concentration of light chain (LC) κ (r=0.510, P=0.044); for the HTN group, the relative abundance of Mortierella was positively associated with the serum concentration of LC κ (P<0.05), the relative abundance of Malassezia was positively associated with both the serum concentrations of LC κ and LC λ (r>0.30, P<0.05). Our present study demonstrated that gut fungal dysbiosis occurred in the state of prehypertension, and fungal dysbiosis can predict the dysregulation of serum light chains in hypertension patients. Further study on modulating gut fungal community should be focused on balancing the immunological features in hypertension.

Altered gut fungi in systemic lupus erythematosus - A pilot study.

Gut fungi, as symbiosis with the human gastrointestinal tract, may regulate physiology via multiple interactions with host cells. The plausible role of fungi in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is far from clear and need to be explored. A total of 64 subjects were recruited, including SLE, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), undifferentiated connective tissue diseases (UCTDs) patients and healthy controls (HCs). Fecal samples of subjects were collected. Gut fungi and bacteria were detected by ITS sequencing and 16S rRNA gene sequencing, respectively. Alpha and beta diversities of microbiota were analyzed. Linear discriminant analysis effect size analysis was performed to identify abundance of microbiota in different groups. The correlation network between bacterial and fungal microbiota was analyzed based on Spearman correlation. Gut fungal diversity and community composition exhibited significant shifts in SLE compared with UCTDs, RA and HCs. Compared with HCs, the alpha and beta diversities of fungal microbiota decreased in SLE patients. According to principal coordinates analysis results, the constitution of fungal microbiota from SLE, RA, UCTDs patients and HCs exhibited distinct differences with a clear separation between fungal microbiota. There was dysbiosis in the compositions of fungal and bacterial microbiota in the SLE patients, compared to HCs. Pezizales, Cantharellales and Pseudaleuria were enriched in SLE compared with HCs, RA and UCTDs. There was a complex relationship network between bacterial and fungal microbiota, especially Candida which was related to a variety of bacteria. This study presents a pilot analysis of fungal microbiota with diversity and composition in SLE, and identifies several gut fungi with different abundance patterns taxa among SLE, RA, UCTDs and HCs. Furthermore, the gut bacterial-fungal association network in SLE patients was altered compared with HCs.

Different performances in polyethylene or polystyrene plastics long-term feeding and biodegradation by Zophobas atratus and Tenebrio molitor larvae, and core gut bacterial- and fungal-microbiome responses

The biodegradation of plastics by insect larvae is considered as an emerging strategy for the resistant plastic wastes disposal. To uncover the correlation of insect larval gut-microbiome with plastics biodegradation, two worm species including superworm Zophobas atratus and yellow mealworm Tenebrio molitor were fed with either polyethylene (PE) or polystyrene (PS) foam as sole diet for a longer period of 45 days, sole bran diet was used as control. Rapid declines of survival rates and plastic ingestions after 30 days were observed, suggesting that long-term sole plastic diet was detrimental to growth and life cycle completion in both larval species. Both PE and PS plastics were found more extensively depolymerized and biodegraded in gut of yellow mealworms than that of superworms by GPC analysis. The larval gut bacterial- and fungal-microbiomes at day 45 were assessed by Illumina MiSeq. The results showed that both gut bacterial and fungal communities shifted upon sole plastic diet ingestion compared to the control. Gut bacterial communities were similar in PS-fed groups but significantly different in PE-fed groups between both species. In contrast, gut fungal communities were clustered by species in general, although they were similar between PE- and PS-fed yellow mealworms but were more divergent between PS- and PE-fed superworms. Analysis of the changes of relative abundances of dominant bacterial and fungal genera demonstrated the strong association between the distinctive gut microbiome and plastic degradation. For instance, Spiroplasma and Rhodotorula for PE degradation, Cryptococcus for PS degradation in mealworms. Issatchenkia for both PS and PE degradation, Pseudomonas for PS degradation in superworms. In conclusion, changes of both gut bacterial- and fungal-microbiomes diversities were associated with plastic feedstock types and larval species, especially fungal microbiomes were strongly associated with larval species.

Dynamic changes of gut fungal community in horse at different health states

Accumulating studies indicated that gut microbial changes played key roles in the progression of multiple diseases, which seriously threaten the host health. Gut microbial dysbiosis is closely associated with the development of diarrhea, but gut microbial composition and variability in diarrheic horses have not been well characterized. Here, we investigated gut fungal compositions and changes in healthy and diarrheic horses using amplicon sequencing. Results indicated that the alpha and beta diversities of gut fungal community in diarrheal horses changed significantly, accompanied by distinct changes in taxonomic compositions. The types of main fungal phyla (Neocallimastigomycota, Ascomycota, and Basidiomycota) in healthy and diarrheal horses were same but different in relative abundances. However, the species and abundances of dominant fungal genera in diarrheal horses changed significantly compared with healthy horses. Results of Metastats analysis indicated that all differential fungal phyla (Blastocladiomycota, Kickxellomycota, Rozellomycota, Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, Chytridiomycota, Mortierellomycota, Neocallimastigomycota, Glomeromycota, and Olpidiomycota) showed a decreasing trend during diarrhea. Moreover, a total of 175 differential fungal genera were identified for the gut fungal community between healthy and diarrheal horses, where 4 fungal genera increased significantly, 171 bacterial genera decreased dramatically during diarrhea. Among these decreased bacteria, 74 fungal genera even completely disappeared from the intestine. Moreover, this is the first comparative analysis of equine gut fungal community in different health states, which is beneficial to understand the important role of gut fungal community in equine health.

Significant differences in intestinal fungal community of hooded cranes along the wintering periods.

The intestinal microbiota play vital roles for health of wild birds in many ways. Migratory birds with unique life history might increase the risk of pathogenic transmission across the regions. However, few studies have clarified the fungal community structure and inferred the potential pathogens in guts of migratory birds. The high-throughput sequencing method was applied to analyze the fungal community structure and detect the potential fungal pathogens in guts of hooded cranes among different wintering stages. Significant differences were found in gut fungal community composition of hooded cranes among three wintering stages, with the lowest fungal diversity in the late wintering stage. In the late stage, hooded cranes harbored higher relative abundance of plant saprotroph, contributing to food digestion for hosts. Hooded cranes were associated with the lowest diversity and relative abundance of animal pathogens in the late wintering stage. There was an increasing trend of deterministic process for gut fungal community assembly, suggesting that hosts interaction with their fungal communities changed by enhanced gut selection/filtering along wintering periods. Hooded crane was associated with the strongest gut selection/filtering to obtain defined gut fungal community with retaining probiotics (i.e., plant saprotroph) and exclusion of certain pathogens in the late wintering stage. Overall, these results demonstrated that hooded cranes might regulate their gut microbiota to enhance digestion and decrease gut pathogens in preparation for long-term migration.

Integrated Bacteria-Fungi Diversity Analysis Reveals the Gut Microbial Changes in Buffalo With Mastitis.

The gut microbial community is closely related to mastitis, but studies regarding the influences of mastitis on gut microbiota in buffalo remain scarce. Herein, we characterized the differences in gut bacterial and fungal communities between mastitis-affected and healthy buffalos. Interestingly, although mastitis had no effect on gut bacterial and fungal diversities in the buffalos, some bacterial and fungal taxa were significantly altered. Bacterial and fungal taxonomic analysis showed that the preponderant bacterial phyla (Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes) and fungal phyla (Ascomycota and Basidiomycota) in buffalo were the same regardless of health status. At the level of genus, the changes in some gut bacterial and fungal abundances between both groups were gradually observed. Compared with healthy buffalos, the proportions of 3 bacterial genera (uncultured_bacterium_f_Muribaculaceae, Eubacterium_nodatum_group, and Lachnoclostridium_10) and 1 fungal genus (Pichia) in the mastitis-affected buffalo were significantly increased, whereas 4 bacterial genera (Ruminococcus_2, Candidatus_Stoquefichus, Turicibacter, and Cellulosilyticum) and 4 fungal genera (Cladosporium, Thermothelomyces, Ganoderma and Aspergillus) were significantly decreased. Taken together, this research revealed that there was significant difference in the compositions of the gut microbial community between the healthy and mastitis-affected buffalos. To our knowledge, this is the first insight into the characteristics of the gut microbiota in buffalos with mastitis, which is beneficial to understand the gut microbial information of buffalo in different health states and elucidate the pathogenesis of mastitis from the gut microbial perspective.

Longitudinal alterations of the gut mycobiota and microbiota on COVID-19 severity

BackgroundThe impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection on the gut fungal (mycobiota) and bacterial (microbiota) communities has been elucidated individually. This study analyzed both gut mycobiota and microbiota and their correlation in the COVID-19 patients with severe and mild conditions and follow-up to monitor their alterations after recovery.MethodsWe analyzed the gut mycobiota and microbiota by bacterial 16S and fungal ITS1 metagenomic sequencing of 40 severe patients, 38 mild patients, and 30 healthy individuals and reanalyzed those of 10 patients with severe COVID-19 approximately 6 months after discharge.ResultsThe mycobiota of the severe and mild groups showed lower diversity than the healthy group, and in some, characteristic patterns dominated by a single fungal species, Candida albicans, were detected. Lower microbial diversity in the severe group was observed, but no differences in its diversity or community structure were detected between the mild and healthy groups. The microbiota of the severe group was characterized by an increase in Enterococcus and Lactobacillus, and a decrease in Faecalibacterium and Bacteroides. The abundance of Candida was positively correlated with that of Enterococcus in patients with COVID-19. After the recovery of severe patients, alteration of the microbiota remained, but the mycobiota recovered its diversity comparable to that of mild and healthy groups.ConclusionIn mild cases, the microbiota is stable during SARS-CoV-2 infection, but in severe cases, alterations persist for 6 months after recovery.

Comparative analysis of gut microbiota in healthy and diarrheic yaks

BackgroundYak (Bos grunniens) mainly inhabiting Tibet Plateau, displayed a high incidence of diarrhea due to harsh living environment and nutritional deficit. Gut microbial community has been reported to be closely related to many diseases including diabetes, obesity and inflammatory bowel disease, but information regarding diarrheic influence on gut microbiota in yaks remains scarce. Here, this study was performed to investigate the gut bacterial and fungal alternations of diarrheic yaks.ResultsResults revealed that the gut bacterial and fungal communities of diarrheic yaks showed a distinct decline in alpha diversity, accompanied by significant shifts in taxonomic compositions. Specifically, diarrhea caused a distinct increase in the relative abundance of 1 phylum and 8 genera as well as a distinct decrease in 3 phyla and 30 genera. Fungal taxonomic analysis indicated that the relative richness of 1 phylum and 2 genera dramatically increased, whereas the relative richness of 2 phylum and 43 genera significantly decreased during diarrhea. Surprisingly, 2 bacterial genera and 5 fungal genera even cannot be detected in the gut microbiota of diarrheic yaks.ConclusionsIn summary, this study indicated that the gut bacterial and fungal compositions and diversities of yaks altered significantly during diarrhea. Moreover, these findings also contribute to understanding the gut microbial composition and diversity of yaks and developing strategies to alleviate and prevent diarrhea from gut microbial perspective.

Alterations in the Gut Fungal Community in a Mouse Model of Huntington's Disease.

ABSTRACTHuntington’s disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by a trinucleotide expansion in the HTT gene, which is expressed throughout the brain and body, including the gut epithelium and enteric nervous system. Afflicted individuals suffer from progressive impairments in motor, psychiatric, and cognitive faculties, as well as peripheral deficits, including the alteration of the gut microbiome. However, studies characterizing the gut microbiome in HD have focused entirely on the bacterial component, while the fungal community (mycobiome) has been overlooked. The gut mycobiome has gained recognition for its role in host homeostasis and maintenance of the gut epithelial barrier. We aimed to characterize the gut mycobiome profile in HD using fecal samples collected from the R6/1 transgenic mouse model (and wild-type littermate controls) from 4 to 12 weeks of age, corresponding to presymptomatic through to early disease stages. Shotgun sequencing was performed on fecal DNA samples, followed by metagenomic analyses. The HD gut mycobiome beta diversity was significantly different from that of wild-type littermates at 12 weeks of age, while no genotype differences were observed at the earlier time points. Similarly, greater alpha diversity was observed in the HD mice by 12 weeks of age. Key taxa, including Malassezia restricta, Yarrowia lipolytica, and Aspergillus species, were identified as having a negative association with HD. Furthermore, integration of the bacterial and fungal data sets at 12 weeks of age identified negative correlations between the HD-associated fungal species and Lactobacillus reuteri. These findings provide new insights into gut microbiome alterations in HD and may help identify novel therapeutic targets.IMPORTANCE Huntington’s disease (HD) is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder affecting both the mind and body. We have recently discovered that gut bacteria are disrupted in HD. The present study provides the first evidence of an altered gut fungal community (mycobiome) in HD. The genomes of many thousands of gut microbes were sequenced and used to assess “metagenomics” in particular the different types of fungal species in the HD versus control gut, in a mouse model. At an early disease stage, before the onset of symptoms, the overall gut mycobiome structure (array of fungi) in HD mice was distinct from that of their wild-type littermates. Alterations of multiple key fungi species were identified as being associated with the onset of disease symptoms, some of which showed strong correlations with the gut bacterial community. This study highlights the potential role of gut fungi in HD and may facilitate the development of novel therapeutic approaches.

Gut fungal community and its probiotic effect on Bactrocera dorsalis.

The oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Diptera: Tephritidae) is a destructive horticultural pest which causes considerable economic losses every year. A collection of microorganisms live within the B. dorsalis gut, and they are involved in its development, physiology, and behavior. However, knowledge regarding the composition and function of the gut mycobiota in B. dorsalis are still limited. Here, we comprehensively characterized the gut mycobiota in B. dorsalis across different developmental stages. High-throughput sequencing results showed a significant difference in fungal species abundance and diversity among different developmental stages of B. dorsalis. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction and culture-dependent methods showed that yeast species was the dominant group in the larval stage. We isolated 13 strains of yeast from the larval gut, and found that GF (germ-free) larvae mono-associated with strain Hanseniaspora uvarum developed faster than those mono-associated with other tested fungal strains. Supplementing the larval diet with H. uvarum fully rescued B. dorsalis development, shortened the larval developmental time, and increased adult wing lengths, as well as the body sizes and weights of both pupae and adults. Thus, our study highlights the close interactions between gut fungi, especially H. uvarum, and B. dorsalis. These findings can be applied to the sterile insect technique program to promote host development during mass insect rearing.

Mapping the human gut mycobiome in middle-aged and elderly adults: multiomics insights and implications for host metabolic health

ObjectiveThe human gut fungal community, known as the mycobiome, plays a fundamental role in the gut ecosystem and health. Here we aimed to investigate the determinants and long-term stability of...

Gut Microbial Alterations in Diarrheal Baer's Pochards (Aythya baeri).

The structure and composition of gut microbiota correlate with the occurrence and development of host health and disease. Diarrhea can cause alterations in gut microbiota in animals, and the changes in the gut microbial structure and composition may affect the development of diarrhea. However, there is a scarcity of information on the effects of diarrhea on gut fungal composition and structure, particularly in Baer's pochard (Aythya baeri). The current study was performed for high-throughput sequencing of the fungal-specific internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS-1) to detect the differences of gut mycobiota in healthy and diarrheal Baer's pochard. Results showed that the gut mycobiota not only decreased significantly in diversity but also in structure and composition. Statistical analysis between two groups revealed a significant decrease in the abundance of phylum Rozellomycota, Zoopagomycota, Mortierellomycota, and Kickxellomycota in diarrheal Baer's pochard. At the genus levels, fungal relative abundance changed significantly in 95 genera, with 56 fungal genera, such as Wickerhamomyces, Alternaria, Penicillium, Cystofilobasidium, and Filobasidium, increasing significantly in the gut of the diarrheal Baer's pochard. In conclusion, the current study revealed the discrepancy in the gut fungal diversity and community composition between the healthy and diarrheal Baer's pochard, laying the basis for elucidating the relationship between diarrhea and the gut mycobiota in Baer's pochard.

Integrated Bacterial and Fungal Diversity Analysis Reveals the Gut Microbial Alterations in Diarrheic Giraffes.

Gut microbiota has been demonstrated to be associated with multiple gastrointestinal diseases, but information regarding the gut microbial alternations in diarrheic giraffe remains scarce. Here, 16S rDNA and ITS gene amplicon sequencing were conducted to investigate the gut microbial composition and variability in diarrheic giraffes. Results demonstrated that Firmicutes and Proteobacteria were the most dominant phyla in the gut bacterial community, whereas Ascomycota and Basidiomycota were observed to be predominant in the gut fungal community regardless of health status. However, the species and relative abundance of preponderant bacterial and fungal genera in healthy and diarrheic giraffes were different. In contrast to the relatively stabilized gut fungal community, gut bacterial community displayed a significant decrease in the alpha diversity, accompanied by distinct changes in taxonomic compositions. Bacterial taxonomic analysis revealed that the relative abundances of eight phyla and 12 genera obviously increased, whereas the relative abundances of two phyla and eight genera dramatically decreased during diarrhea. Moreover, the relative richness of five fungal genera significantly increased, whereas the relative richness of seven fungal genera significantly declined in diarrheic giraffes. Taken together, this study demonstrated that diarrhea could cause significant alternations in the gut microbial composition of giraffes, and the changes in the gut bacterial community were more significant than those in the gut fungal community. Additionally, investigating the gut microbial characteristics of giraffes in different health states is beneficial to provide a theoretical basis for establishing a prevention and treatment system for diarrhea from the gut microbial perspective.

Assessing the Influence of Environmental Sources on the Gut Mycobiome of Tibetan Macaques.

The distribution and availability of microbes in the environment has an important effect on the composition of the gut microbiome of wild vertebrates. However, our current knowledge of gut-environmental interactions is based principally on data from the host bacterial microbiome, rather than on links that establish how and where hosts acquire their gut mycobiome. This complex interaction needs to be clarified. Here, we explored the relationship between the gut fungal communities of Tibetan macaques (Macaca thibetana) and the presence of environmental (plant and soil) fungi at two study sites using the fungal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and next generation sequencing. Our findings demonstrate that the gut, plant and soil fungal communities in their natural habitat were distinct. We found that at both study sites, the core abundant taxa and ASVs (Amplicon Sequence Variants) of Tibetan macaques’ gut mycobiome were present in environmental samples (plant, soil or both). However, the majority of these fungi were characterized by a relatively low abundance in the environment. This pattern implies that the ecology of the gut may select for diverse but rare environmental fungi. Moreover, our data indicates that the gut mycobiome of Tibetan macaques was more similar to the mycobiome of their plant diet than that present in the soil. For example, we found three abundant ASVs (Didymella rosea, Cercospora, and Cladosporium) that were present in the gut and on plants, but not in the soil. Our results highlight a relationship between the gut mycobiome of wild primates and environmental fungi, with plants diets possibly contributing more to seeding the macaque’s gut mycobiome than soil fungi.

Impact of gut fungal and bacterial communities on the outcome of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation.

Patients receiving allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (alloHCT) were previously shown to display a bacterial gut dysbiosis; however, limited data are available regarding the role of fungal microbiota in these patients. We evaluated the bacterial and fungal composition of the fecal microbiota at day 0 of alloHCT. Higher bacterial diversity was associated with an improved overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS). While fungal diversity had no impact on patient outcomes, we observed that high versus low relative abundance of Candida albicans in alloHCT patientsat day 0 was associated with a significantly lower OS, DFS and graft-versus-host-free, relapse-free survival (GRFS) (p = 0.0008, p = 0.0064 and p = 0.026, respectively). While these results are limited by low patient numbers and low fungal read counts in some samples, they suggest a potentially important role for C albicans in alloHCT.

Composition and Associations of the Infant Gut Fungal Microbiota with Environmental Factors and Childhood Allergic Outcomes.

ABSTRACTAlthough often neglected in gut microbiota studies, recent evidence suggests that imbalanced, or dysbiotic, gut mycobiota (fungal microbiota) communities in infancy coassociate with states of bacterial dysbiosis linked to inflammatory diseases such as asthma. In the present study, we (i) characterized the infant gut mycobiota at 3 months and 1 year of age in 343 infants from the CHILD Cohort Study, (ii) defined associations among gut mycobiota community composition and environmental factors for the development of inhalant allergic sensitization (atopy) at age 5 years, and (iii) built a predictive model for inhalant atopy status at age 5 years using these data. We show that in Canadian infants, fungal communities shift dramatically in composition over the first year of life. Early-life environmental factors known to affect gut bacterial communities were also associated with differences in gut fungal community alpha diversity, beta diversity, and/or the relative abundance of specific fungal taxa. Moreover, these metrics differed among healthy infants and those who developed inhalant allergic sensitization (atopy) by age 5 years. Using a rationally selected set of early-life environmental factors in combination with fungal community composition at 1 year of age, we developed a machine learning logistic regression model that predicted inhalant atopy status at 5 years of age with 81% accuracy. Together, these data suggest an important role for the infant gut mycobiota in early-life immune development and indicate that early-life behavioral or therapeutic interventions have the potential to modify infant gut fungal communities, with implications for an infant’s long-term health.