title: Metaproteogenomics Reveals Taxonomic and Functional Changes between Cecal and Fecal Microbiota in Mouse.
abstract: Previous studies on mouse models report that cecal and fecal microbial communities may differ in the taxonomic structure, but little is known about their respective functional activities. Here, we employed a metaproteogenomic approach, including 16S rRNA gene sequencing, shotgun metagenomics and shotgun metaproteomics, to analyze the microbiota of paired mouse cecal contents (CCs) and feces, with the aim of identifying changes in taxon-specific functions. As a result, Gram-positive anaerobes were observed as considerably higher in CCs, while several key enzymes, involved in oxalate degradation, glutamate/glutamine metabolism, and redox homeostasis, and most actively expressed by Bacteroidetes, were clearly more represented in feces. On the whole, taxon and function abundance appeared to vary consistently with environmental changes expected to occur throughout the transit from the cecum to outside the intestine, especially when considering metaproteomic data. The results of this study indicate that functional and metabolic differences exist between CC and stool samples, paving the way to further metaproteogenomic investigations aimed at elucidating the functional dynamics of the intestinal microbiota.
authors.affiliation: Porto Conte Ricerche, Science and Technology Park of Sardinia Alghero, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tanca
authors.affiliation: Porto Conte Ricerche, Science and Technology Park of SardiniaAlghero, Italy; Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of SassariSassari, Italy.
authors.forename: Valeria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Manghina
authors.affiliation: Porto Conte Ricerche, Science and Technology Park of Sardinia Alghero, Italy.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fraumene
authors.affiliation: Porto Conte Ricerche, Science and Technology Park of Sardinia Alghero, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Palomba
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari Sassari, Italy.
authors.forename: Marcello
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abbondio
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari Sassari, Italy.
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Deligios
authors.affiliation: Division of Immunology, Department of Microbiology and Immunobiology, Harvard Medical SchoolBoston, MA, USA; Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children's HospitalBoston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Silverman
authors.affiliation: Porto Conte Ricerche, Science and Technology Park of SardiniaAlghero, Italy; Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of SassariSassari, Italy.
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Uzzau
keywords: gut microbiome; metabolic pathways; metagenomics; metaproteomics; microbial community; systems microbiology