title: Colonization with the enteric protozoa Blastocystis is associated with increased diversity of human gut bacterial microbiota.
abstract: Alterations in the composition of commensal bacterial populations, a phenomenon known as dysbiosis, are linked to multiple gastrointestinal disorders, such as inflammatory bowel disease and irritable bowel syndrome, or to infections by diverse enteric pathogens. Blastocystis is one of the most common single-celled eukaryotes detected in human faecal samples. However, the clinical significance of this widespread colonization remains unclear, and its pathogenic potential is controversial. To address the issue of Blastocystis pathogenicity, we investigated the impact of colonization by this protist on the composition of the human gut microbiota. For that purpose, we conducted a cross-sectional study including 48 Blastocystis-colonized patients and 48 Blastocystis-free subjects and performed an Ion Torrent 16S rDNA gene sequencing to decipher the Blastocystis-associated gut microbiota. Here, we report a higher bacterial diversity in faecal microbiota of Blastocystis colonized patients, a higher abundance of Clostridia as well as a lower abundance of Enterobacteriaceae. Our results contribute to suggesting that Blastocystis colonization is usually associated with a healthy gut microbiota, rather than with gut dysbiosis generally observed in metabolic or infectious inflammatory diseases of the lower gastrointestinal tract.
authors.affiliation: GENES DIFFUSION, Douai, France.|PEGASE-Biosciences, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Lille, France.
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Audebert
authors.affiliation: GENES DIFFUSION, Douai, France.|PEGASE-Biosciences, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Lille, France.
authors.forename: Gaël
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Even
authors.affiliation: Univ. Lille, CNRS, Inserm, CHU de Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, U1019 - UMR 8204 - CIIL - Center for Infection and Immunity of Lille, Lille, France.
authors.forename: Amandine
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cian
authors.affiliation: GENES DIFFUSION, Douai, France.|PEGASE-Biosciences, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Lille, France.
authors.forename: Alexandre
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Loywick
authors.affiliation: GENES DIFFUSION, Douai, France.|PEGASE-Biosciences, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Lille, France.
authors.forename: Sophie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Merlin
authors.affiliation: Univ. Lille, CNRS, Inserm, CHU de Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, U1019 - UMR 8204 - CIIL - Center for Infection and Immunity of Lille, Lille, France.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Viscogliosi
authors.affiliation: Univ. Lille, CNRS, Inserm, CHU de Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, U1019 - UMR 8204 - CIIL - Center for Infection and Immunity of Lille, Lille, France.
authors.forename: Magali
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chabé
mesh_terms: D016844:Blastocystis / Q000254:growth & development*; D016776:Blastocystis Infections / Q000150:complications*; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D064806:Dysbiosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D000069196:Gastrointestinal Microbiome; D041981:Gastrointestinal Tract / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000469:parasitology*; D006801:Humans; D056186:Metagenomics; D064307:Microbiota; D010802:Phylogeny; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S