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Metabolomics in Gut Microbiota Research

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Dora West

With rapid development in sequencing technology, researchers can better assess the effect of the gut microbiome on human health. Human beings have a symbiotic relationship with the microbiota since birth. The environment, proximity to other humans and animals, diet, genetics, and time changes can all affect the microbial composition of our skin, mouth, and intestines. Compared with other previously unknown organs, the microbiota has extensive metabolic functions and carries 1,000 times more genes than the human genome.

 

Metabolomics is an important omics technology based on high-throughput analysis technology (chromatography-mass spectrometry, NMR) and bioinformatics. It has progressed considerably in the past ten years, and its use has been broadened in various fields of life science and medical research. In addition to the advantages of conventional non-target exploratory analysis, metabolomics can also detect specific metabolites related to intestinal bacteria, clearly reflecting the functional change of intestinal flora under specific conditions. Combined with the sequencing analysis technology of intestinal bacteria, a key strategy for studying the relationship between intestinal flora and disease, intestinal flora and drug metabolism/pharmacodynamics, is formed.

 


The gut microbiota is increasingly recognized as important drug targets. Specific microorganisms can inactivate or activate specific exogenous substances, thereby changing the effects of different therapeutic drugs. Metabolomics and metabolite analysis can be widely used to identify clinical disease biomarkers. For example, quantitative analysis of triglyceride, glucose, and cholesterol levels in the blood can be used to determine the risk of heart disease. The initial microbiome studies attempted to identify bacterial taxa related to diseases, physiological conditions, drug use, or dietary intake.

 

Metabolomics analysis can also help us study the effects of rare and genetically mutated bacterial groups on metabolic functions. If a rare bacterial group has important metabolic functions, it may have a great impact on the metabolome of the entire community. The core functions of intestinal flora can be influenced by the available substrates (for example, exogenous substances), even if the microbial species composition and abundance remain unchanged.

 

Different microbial communities metabolize exogenous substances and dietary components differently, and their effects on host tissues also vary. The host impacts the composition of the gut microbiota, gene expression, and material metabolism through diet or ingestion of exogenous substances. The gut microbiota metabolizes diet and exogenous substances into metabolites. These metabolites enter through the blood and affect the host peripherally. For example, drugs can be metabolized by the flora and become less effective, or they can be converted into non-target and potentially toxic derivatives. Changes in these metabolites alter the metabolomics characteristics of the intestines, thereby having variable effects on the host. At the same time, the new host phenotype can, in turn, have a feedback effect on the microbial community.

 

Creative Proteomics is a preeminent corporation specializing in multi-omics. We are equipped with state-of-the-art techniques to provide one-stop gut microbiota metabolomics services for your research.

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