title: Molecular Characterization and Meta-Analysis of Gut Microbial Communities Illustrate Enrichment of Prevotella and Megasphaera in Indian Subjects.
abstract: The gut microbiome has varied impact on the wellbeing of humans. It is influenced by different factors such as age, dietary habits, socio-economic status, geographic location, and genetic makeup of individuals. For devising microbiome-based therapies, it is crucial to identify population specific features of the gut microbiome. Indian population is one of the most ethnically, culturally, and geographically diverse, but the gut microbiome features remain largely unknown. The present study describes gut microbial communities of healthy Indian subjects and compares it with the microbiota from other populations. Based on large differences in alpha diversity indices, abundance of 11 bacterial phyla and individual specific OTUs, we report inter-individual variations in gut microbial communities of these subjects. While the gut microbiome of Indians is different from that of Americans, it shared high similarity to individuals from the Indian subcontinent i.e., Bangladeshi. Distinctive feature of Indian gut microbiota is the predominance of genus Prevotella and Megasphaera. Further, when compared with other non-human primates, it appears that Indians share more OTUs with omnivorous mammals. Our metagenomic imputation indicates higher potential for glycan biosynthesis and xenobiotic metabolism in these subjects. Our study indicates urgent need of identification of population specific microbiome biomarkers of Indian subpopulations to have more holistic view of the Indian gut microbiome and its health implications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, Savitribai Phule Pune University Pune, India.
authors.forename: Shrikant
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bhute
authors.affiliation: Microbial Culture Collection, National Centre for Cell Sciences, Savitribai Phule Pune University campus Pune, India.
authors.forename: Pranav
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pande
authors.affiliation: Microbial Culture Collection, National Centre for Cell Sciences, Savitribai Phule Pune University campus Pune, India.
authors.forename: Sudarshan A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Shetty
authors.affiliation: Microbial Culture Collection, National Centre for Cell Sciences, Savitribai Phule Pune University campus Pune, India.
authors.forename: Rahul
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Shelar
authors.affiliation: Microbial Culture Collection, National Centre for Cell Sciences, Savitribai Phule Pune University campus Pune, India.
authors.forename: Sachin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mane
authors.affiliation: Microbial Culture Collection, National Centre for Cell Sciences, Savitribai Phule Pune University campus Pune, India.
authors.forename: Shreyas V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Kumbhare
authors.affiliation: Microbial Culture Collection, National Centre for Cell Sciences, Savitribai Phule Pune University campus Pune, India.
authors.forename: Ashwini
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gawali
authors.affiliation: Microbial Culture Collection, National Centre for Cell Sciences, Savitribai Phule Pune University campus Pune, India.
authors.forename: Hemal
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Makhani
authors.affiliation: Microbial Culture Collection, National Centre for Cell Sciences, Savitribai Phule Pune University campus Pune, India.
authors.forename: Mohit
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Navandar
authors.affiliation: Microbial Culture Collection, National Centre for Cell Sciences, Savitribai Phule Pune University campus Pune, India.
authors.forename: Dhiraj
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dhotre
authors.affiliation: Diabetes Unit, KEM Hospital Research Centre Pune, India.
authors.forename: Himangi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lubree
authors.affiliation: Vadu Rural Health Program, KEM Hospital Research Centre Pune, India.
authors.forename: Dhiraj
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Agarwal
authors.affiliation: Vadu Rural Health Program, KEM Hospital Research Centre Pune, India.
authors.forename: Rutuja
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Patil
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, Savitribai Phule Pune University Pune, India.
authors.forename: Shantanu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ozarkar
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, Savitribai Phule Pune University Pune, India.
authors.forename: Saroj
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ghaskadbi
authors.affiliation: Diabetes Unit, KEM Hospital Research Centre Pune, India.
authors.forename: Chittaranjan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yajnik
authors.affiliation: Vadu Rural Health Program, KEM Hospital Research Centre Pune, India.
authors.forename: Sanjay
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Juvekar
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Human Nutrition, All India Institute of Medical Sciences New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Govind K
authors.initials: GK
authors.lastname: Makharia
authors.affiliation: Microbial Culture Collection, National Centre for Cell Sciences, Savitribai Phule Pune University campus Pune, India.
authors.forename: Yogesh S
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Shouche
keywords: 16S rRNA amplicon; Indian subjects; Prevotella and Megasphaera; qPCR