Obesity And The Gut Microbiota

The human microbiome is the genetic material of the microbes that live inside and on the human body. Microbes are microscopic organisms such as bacteria, fungi, protozoa and viruses. One’s diet and environmental factors can affect the composition of the microbiome. There is a high concentration of microbes in the gut, particularly inside the large intestine. The microbiome does many different things. It helps to digest our food, regulate our immune system, produce vitamins, protect against bad bacteria, and is essential for human development. Recent studies suggest that the microbiome also has an impact on the brain and emotional behavior. Interactions between the host and its microbiome are complex and bidirectional.

There are major effects in the United States and Europe to help identify the role of microbial communities in the human body. The colon requires a balance of microbial agents that assist with various functions of the body. An imbalance can lead to C.diff., irritable bowel disease (IBD), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), neurological disorders, and obesity just to list a few. Many of these problems have grown to an epidemic proportion. Both the United States and Europe have started projects aimed at the microbial communities of the body and their roles in our health.

Unique microbiota could suggest a human’s current health or if there is any forthcoming chronic disease (Ley, 2006). Families with shared healthy microbes may be able to help relatives who suffer from gastrointestinal disease; but the extant to which the microbiome is shared across generations is not readily known and more research is needed. The core trends for current research revolve around control of obesity, treatment of gastrointestinal diseases such as Crohn’s, and hormonal manipulation in cases of depression. It is imperative to learn to eat for optimal health, to evolve along with the commensals (Turner et al., 2013) as human diets influence diversity of microbes present (Ley et al., 2008). This is a relatively new field with exciting prospects of positive outcomes for some of society’s more chronic

The relationship between the human gut microbiome to health and disease is strong. Human physiology, metabolism, nutrition, and immune function are all affected by the composition of the gut. If the composition of the gut microbiome is altered in a way that any of these functions are negatively affected, this can lead to disease. The developments of the microbiome, its complexity, and its functionality in health and disease have been extensively studied. In addition, the way in which it is altered has many implications in the cause of diseases, such as bowel disease, obesity, diabetes and cancer.

The study intended to look at the gut microbiome that is naturally present within the gut. The research team of the Louisiana State University designed an experiment with lab rats to predict how the manipulation of the gut microbiome with a high fat diet would affect their brain

The hindgut is not only a fermentation vat, but it also stimulates immune responses, protects against pathogens, production and neutralization of toxins, and gene expression in host epithelial tissues (Milinovich et al., 2010). The cecal microbiome is extremely sensitive and can be affected by factors like gastrointestinal disease and dietary changes, which can lead to systemic consequences and even death (Costa et al., 2012). Therefore, healthy and balanced microbiota is vital for the overall wellbeing of the animal. By understanding external factors and how they affect the gut microbiota, this could help in diagnosing medical conditions and provide better treatment and prognosis of gastrointestinal diseases resulting in

Zhang et.al. did a study with the aim of assessing the relative contributions of host genetics and diet in shaping the gut microbiota and modulating metabolic syndrome related phenotypes. They fed wild type mice C57BL/6J) and Apoa-1 knockout mice normal chow or a high fat diet (HFD) for 25 weeks. The knock out mice had impaired glucose tolerance and high body fat at baseline. They measured food intake and body weight evert 2 weeks and measured glucose tolerance and gut microbiota composition and population at baseline and at the end of the intervention at 25 weeks. According to their findings the wild type mice that were fed a high fat diet gained the most weight followed by the gene Apoa knockout mice. The same results were also seen for glucose tolerance test with the wild type mice on a high fat diet showing a larger spike in blood glucose. Significant differences in microbial composition was seen between animals on different diets rather than animals with genetic differences. HFD eliminated bifidobacteria and increased the abundance of endotoxin producing desulfovibrionaceae. Diet differences accounted for

The use of the first form of microbe-based therapeutics, probiotics, is beneficial for preventing disease. These live microorganisms are known to strengthen the equilibrium of the gut flora by the development of healthy gut

Research was conducted comparing the intestinal bacteria of obese and thin people, which showed that microbes in the thin individuals intestines where much more diverse than that of an obese individuals. Studies showed that thin individuals

Studies have identified different genera of bacteria which are present in the microbiome and their role in nutrient intake. Gut microbiota has 3 main enterotypes Prevotella, Bacteroides and Ruminococcus, there is a strong correlation between the concentration of each bacterial community and the dietary constituents. A diet high in carbohydrates and simple sugars would also indicate and reveal a greater concentration of Prevotella whereas a diet high in protein and animal fats would present a higher concentration of Bacteroides in the gut. A long term change in the diet would permanently shift the concentration of bacteria in the gut to accommodate the new nutrient uptake. This would then change the bacterial barrier in the intestine which could make it more vulnerable due to reduced species richness.

The gut microbiota encompasses trillions of microorganisms that inhabit the gastrointestinal tract (Carding et al. 2015). The composition of the gut microbiota is constantly evolving and can be susceptible to both endogenous and exogenous modifications (Carding et al. 2015). The microbiota

Zimmer ends the article by explaining that having a more diverse set of microbes in your gut can actually help you in the long run. Western cultures have microbes that produce carbohydrates that feed on the body if not given enough fiber. However, the people living with more diverse microbes in the gut are developing microbiomes that are rarely seen in industrialized cultures (Zimmer). The article ends with a statement regarding the idea that seasonal microbes give scientists a new outlook as to how humans lived and thrived in a world long before there were industrialized societies.

The human gut microbiota has become the subject of researches in recent years and our knowledge of the resident species and their potential functional capacity is rapidly growing. Our gut harbors a complex community of over 100 trillion microbial cells. Therefore, our gut microbiota evolves with us and plays a pivotal role in human health and disease. This has clear effects on physiologic, immunologic, and metabolic processes in human health, aberrations in the gut microbiome and intestinal homeostasis have the capacity for multisystem effects. Changes in microbial composition are implicated in the increasing for a broad range of inflammatory diseases, such as allergic disease, asthma, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), obesity, and associated

* Does obesity affect the community structure? If so, at what taxonomic level does this occur, and does the gut community

These complex communities play an important role in health and have been implicated in the pathogenesis of diseases including diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity. The microbiota living symbiotically with their host are generally non-pathogenic and have evolved with humans in order to combat colonization by harmful bacteria while extracting energy from non-digestible polysaccharides. There are many factors that contribute to the stability of the gut microbiome. Typically, the gut microbiome is established at birth and differs with mode of delivery (vaginally vs. cesarean) [7,9]. Therefore, the manner in which a child is born influences the composition of bacteria. Other factors include host environment, genetics and lifestyle, the latter of which is the focus of this proposal [8,16]. The gut flora are beneficial to humans as they provide essential nutrients while also acting as an adaptive immune system [7, 23]. Research has suggested that antigens released from gut microbiota can be absorbed and infiltrate adipose tissue, thereby worsening chronic inflammation and oxidative stress associated with obesity [23]. Therefore, identifying the specific microbiome of an individual can be diagnostic of metabolic disorders [8] and may contribute to impaired endothelium-mediated