Frontiers in microbiology
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Frontiers in microbiology · Jan 2017
The Gut Microbiota of Healthy Chilean Subjects Reveals a High Abundance of the Phylum Verrucomicrobia.
The gut microbiota is currently recognized as an important factor regulating the homeostasis of the gastrointestinal tract and influencing the energetic metabolism of the host as well as its immune and central nervous systems. Determining the gut microbiota composition of healthy subjects is therefore necessary to establish a baseline allowing the detection of microbiota alterations in pathologic conditions. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to characterize the gut microbiota of healthy Chilean subjects using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. ⋯ Interestingly, the microbiota of the Chilean subjects stands out for its richness in Verrucomicrobia; the mucus-degrading bacterium Akkermansia muciniphila is the only identified member of this phylum. This is an important finding considering that this microorganism has been recently proposed as a hallmark of healthy gut due to its anti-inflammatory and immunostimulant properties and its ability to improve gut barrier function, insulin sensitivity and endotoxinemia. These results constitute an important baseline that will facilitate the characterization of dysbiosis in the main diseases affecting the Chilean population.
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Frontiers in microbiology · Jan 2017
Impact of Westernized Diet on Gut Microbiota in Children on Leyte Island.
Urbanization has changed life styles of the children in some towns and cities on Leyte island in the Philippines. To evaluate the impact of modernization in dietary habits on gut microbiota, we compared fecal microbiota of 7 to 9-year-old children from rural Baybay city (n = 24) and urban Ormoc city (n = 19), and assessed the correlation between bacterial composition and diet. A dietary survey indicated that Ormoc children consumed fast food frequently and more meat and confectionary than Baybay children, suggesting modernization/westernization of dietary habits. ⋯ Predicted metagenomics suggests that BB-type microbiota is well nourished and metabolically more active with simple sugars, amino acids, and lipids, while P-type community is more involved in digestion of complex carbohydrates. Overweight and obese children living in Ormoc, who consumed a high-fat diet, harbored microbiota with higher F/B ratio and low abundance of Prevotella. The altered gut microbiota may be a sign of a modern diet-associated obesity among children in developing areas.
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Frontiers in microbiology · Jan 2016
ReviewBifidobacteria and Their Role as Members of the Human Gut Microbiota.
Members of the genus Bifidobacterium are among the first microbes to colonize the human gastrointestinal tract and are believed to exert positive health benefits on their host. Due to their purported health-promoting properties, bifidobacteria have been incorporated into many functional foods as active ingredients. Bifidobacteria naturally occur in a range of ecological niches that are either directly or indirectly connected to the animal gastrointestinal tract, such as the human oral cavity, the insect gut and sewage. ⋯ However, genetic modification is crucial toward fully elucidating the mechanisms by which bifidobacteria exert their adaptive abilities and beneficial properties. In this review we provide an up to date summary of the general features of bifidobacteria, whilst paying particular attention to the metabolic abilities of this species. We also describe methods that have allowed successful genetic manipulation of bifidobacteria.
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Frontiers in microbiology · Jan 2016
Molecular Epidemiology of Multi-Drug Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii Isolated in Shandong, China.
Acinetobacter baumannii is an emerging nosocomial pathogen prevalent in hospitals worldwide. In order to understand the molecular epidemiology of multi-drug resistant (MDR) A. baumannii, we investigated the genotypes of A. baumannii isolated from 10 hospitals in Shandong, China, from August 2013 to December 2013, by pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and multilocus sequence typing (MLST). Antimicrobial resistance genes were analyzed by PCR and DNA sequencing. ⋯ In summary, we discovered that the majority of the isolates in Shandong, China, were the STs belonging to the CC92. Besides, two new STs were detected in one hospital. These new STs should be further investigated for prevention of outbreaks caused by A. baumannii.
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Frontiers in microbiology · Jan 2016
Is HELICS the Right Way? Lack of Chest Radiography Limits Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia Surveillance in Wales.
The reported incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) in Wales is low compared with surveillance data from other European regions. It is unclear whether this reflects success of the Welsh healthcare-associated infection prevention measures or limitations in the application of European VAP surveillance methods. Our primary aim was to investigate episodes of ventilator-associated respiratory tract infection (VARTI), to identify episodes that met established criteria for VAP, and to explore reasons why others did not, according to the Hospitals in Europe Link for Infection Control through Surveillance (HELICS) definitions. ⋯ HELICS VAP surveillance definitions identified less than one-third of cases in which antibiotics were commenced for suspected ventilator-associated RTI. Lack of chest radiography precluded nearly 50% cases from meeting the surveillance definition of VAP, and as a consequence we are almost certainly underestimating the incidence of VAP in Wales.