Researchers, Sydney Brenner Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, SOUTH AFRICA
Expanding the human gut microbiome atlas of Africa
Host:S. Cacciatore
Abstract:
Population studies are crucial in understanding the complex interplay between the gut
microbiome and geographical, lifestyle, genetic, and environmental factors. However,
populations from low- and middle-income countries, which represent ~84% of the world
population, have been excluded from large-scale gut microbiome research. We present the
AWI-Gen 2 Microbiome Project, a cross-sectional gut microbiome study sampling 1,803 women
from Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa. By intensively engaging with communities
that range from rural and horticultural to urban informal settlements and post-industrial, we
capture population diversity that represents a far greater breadth of the world’s population.
Using shotgun metagenomic sequencing, we find that study site explains substantially
more microbial variation than disease status. We identify taxa with strong geographic and
lifestyle associations and uncover a wealth of prokaryotic and viral novelty, including 1,005
new bacterial metagenome-assembled genomes, and identify phylogeography signatures
in Treponema succinifaciens. Finally, we find a microbiome signature of HIV infection that
is defined by several taxa not previously associated with HIV, including Dysosmobacter
welbionis and Enterocloster sp. This study represents the largest population-representative
survey of gut metagenomes of African individuals to date, and paired with extensive clinical
biomarkers, demographic data, and lifestyle information, provides extensive opportunity for
microbiome-related discovery and research.
International Seminar Programme
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