Gaining insights into gut microbiata

8 June 2022

Imagine taking a walk in a forest — it is almost certain that one will immediately appreciate the variety of plants and animals. The different trees, shrubs, animals, and insects play an important role together in maintaining the forest's health. Similarly, ecosystems made up of trillions of microorganisms consisting of viruses, bacteria, and fungi can be found in our gut, collectively known as the gut microbiota.

"With advances in genetic sequencing and computing, we know that different gut microbiota members play an essential role in immunology, digestion and hormone homeostasis. The gut microbiota protects us against colonisation by bad microbes or pathogens by strengthening the mucus layer and producing protective compounds that target pathogens from bile acids. Some probiotic bacteria, such as Bifidobacterium adolescentis, produce Vitamin B9 in the colonic environment, while Bacteroides ovatus assist in digesting carbohydrates," shared Dr Chong Chun Wie from the School of Pharmacy, Monash University Malaysia.

When the balance of gut microbes within us is upset, dysbiosis, which is linked to many diseases such as obesity, diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and inflammatory bowel diseases, results. Dr Chong stated that defining the healthy range of the health-associated gut bacteria can be challenging. Reference databases need to be set up from the gut profiles of many healthy individuals.

"Clinicians are able to provide health advice to their patients based on the predefined healthy range of the blood chemistry (e.g. range of blood glucose, electrolyte, cholesterol etc.) using a blood test as an analogy. However, similar references are missing for the gut microbiota as it is unclear what should be the healthy range for the gut bacteria. The matter is further complicated by the fact that the gut microbiome is population-specific. Our previous studies have shown that the gut microbial composition of Malaysian is significantly different from China, Indonesia and India (Fig 1A)," Dr Chong said.

He added that the gut microbiota composition differs significantly across Malaysia's Chinese, Malay, and Indian ethnic groups. The differences can be attributed to the variation in diet, lifestyle and environment.

"Given that the existing knowledge on gut microbiota mainly originated from studies on Western populations, there is an urgent need for more data from our own populations to enable intervention. For instance, if one knows that their Faecalibacterium prausnitzii (a probiotic species that is capable of producing short-chain fatty acids, the precursors for neurotransmitters that maintain brain health) is below the healthy range, doctors will be able to prescribe pre- or probiotics to increase the abundance of F.prausnitzii in the gut," he stated.

Monash University Malaysia is working together with AMILI Sdn Bhd, a precision gut health company working across Asia, to profile 1,000 Malaysian microbiomes through the sequencing of stool samples to address the existing knowledge gaps.

"Additionally, we will also collect urine samples to study the link between the microbial composition and the abundance of important metabolites in the urine. The data will provide valuable insights into the core microbial composition of Malaysians and facilitate more targeted and individualised microbiota intervention for us here in Malaysia," he said.

All sequencing data will be deposited in the GenBank to encourage knowledge sharing and promote microbiome science in Malaysia.

The research team is looking for volunteers to donate their stool and urine samples. Volunteers will receive a free microbiome report by the end of the study and a small token for participating in this study.

Interested volunteers are encouraged to fill up the pre-registration form at https://sites.google.com/monash.edu/1000mymicrobiome/home or contact Professor Sadequr Rahman (sadequr.rahman@monash.edu), Dr Chong Chun Wie (ChongChunWie@monash.edu), or Dr Polly Yap (polly.yap@monash.edu) for further information.