Arrhythmic Gut Microbiome Signatures Predict Risk of Type 2 Diabetes
- Journal:
- Cell Host & Microbe
- Published:
- DOI:
- 10.1016/j.chom.2020.06.004
- Affiliations:
- 19
- Authors:
- 25
Research Highlight
Time-stamped stool reveals risk of diabetes
© KATERYNA KON/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Getty
The
relative abundances of different bacteria in the gut wax and wane predictably
over the course of 24 hours. In people with obesity and type 2 diabetes,
however, this regular daily pattern is perturbed — a finding that functionally
links circadian rhythms in the gut microbiome with metabolic disease.
A
Technical University of Munich–led team used DNA sequencing data from
time-stamped stool samples, coupled with machine-learning techniques, to
identify 13 taxonomic groups of oscillating gut bacteria that showed disrupted
rhythmicity in obese, diabetic individuals.
This
arrhythmic signature allowed the researchers to develop a predictive model
that, when combined with body mass index, could identify individuals at highest
risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Microbial
rhythmicity could thus serve as a potential diagnostic biomarker to improve the
care and management of people with type 2 diabetes.
References
- Cell Host & Microbe 28, 258–272.e6 (2020). doi: 10.1016/j.chom.2020.06.004