Is the gut microbiota dysbiotic in patients with classical homocystinuria?

Classical homocystinuria (HCU) is characterized by increased plasma levels of total homocysteine (tHcy) and methionine (Met). Treatment may involve supplementation of B vitamins and essential amino acids, as well as restricted Met intake. Dysbiosis has been described in some inborn errors of metabolism, but has not been investigated in HCU. The aim of this study was to investigate the gut microbiota of HCU patients on treatment. Six unrelated HCU patients (males = 5, median age = 25.5 years) and six age-and-sex-matched healthy controls (males = 5, median age = 24.5 years) had their fecal microbiota characterized through partial 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Fecal pH, a 3-day dietary record, medical history, and current medications were recorded for both groups. All patients were nonresponsive to pyridoxine and were on a Met-restricted diet and presented with high tHcy. Oral supplementation of folate (n = 6) and pyridoxine (n = 5), oral intake of betaine (n = 4), and IM vitamin B12 supplementation (n = 4), were reported only in the HCU group. Patients had decreased daily intake of fat, cholesterol, vitamin D, and selenium compared to controls (p < 0.05). There was no difference in alpha and beta diversity between the groups. HCU patients had overrepresentation of the Eubacterium coprostanoligenes group and underrepresentation of the Alistipes, Family XIII UCG-001, and Parabacteroidetes genera. HCU patients and controls had similar gut microbiota diversity, despite differential abundance of some bacterial genera. Diet, betaine, vitamin B supplementation, and host genetics may contribute to these differences in microbial ecology.

High-throughput sequencing analysis of Eugenia uniflora: insights into repetitive DNA, gene content and potential biotechnological applications.

In this study, the Ion Torrent PGM platform was employed to conduct a whole-genome sequencing analysis of Eugenia uniflora L., aiming to generate new genomic information for this non-model species. The whole-genome set of assembled sequences (WGSAS) generated 2601 contigs, with a cumulative length of 3.15 Mbp. About 2.60% of the WGSAS was characterized by repetitive sequences, while 71.66% of the WGSAS was represented by predicted genes. A total of 147 metabolic pathways related to enzymes characterized in the E. uniflora WGSAS were detected. Proteins related to antifungal activity and to bacterium and fungi defense response as well as transcriptions factors related to abiotic stress responses were also identified. This sequencing provides important genomic resources for future breeding and selection regarding plants with higher production of such metabolites, as well as source of genes for genetic engineering of cultivated species, supporting a wide application of marker-assisted and genomic selection, towards the establishment of commercial orchards with improved cultivars of E. uniflora.

Relationship between honeybee nutrition and their microbial communities.

The microbiota and the functional genes actively involved in the process of breakdown and utilization of pollen grains in beebread and bee guts are not yet understood. The aim of this work was to assess the diversity and community structure of bacteria and archaea in Africanized honeybee guts and beebread as well as to predict the genes involved in the microbial bioprocessing of pollen using state of the art 'post-light' based sequencing technology. A total of 11 bacterial phyla were found within bee guts and 10 bacterial phyla were found within beebread. Although the phylum level comparison shows most phyla in common, a deeper phylogenetic analysis showed greater variation of taxonomic composition. The families Enterobacteriaceae, Ricketsiaceae, Spiroplasmataceae and Bacillaceae, were the main groups responsible for the specificity of the bee gut while the main families responsible for the specificity of the beebread were Neisseriaceae, Flavobacteriaceae, Acetobacteraceae and Lactobacillaceae. In terms of microbial community structure, the analysis showed that the communities from the two environments were quite different from each other with only 7 % of species-level taxa shared between bee gut and beebread. The results indicated the presence of a highly specialized and well-adapted microbiota within each bee gut and beebread. The beebread community included a greater relative abundance of genes related to amino acid, carbohydrate, and lipid metabolism, suggesting that pollen biodegradation predominantly occurs in the beebread. These results suggests a complex and important relationship between honeybee nutrition and their microbial communities.

Brazilian Microbiome Project: revealing the unexplored microbial diversity--challenges and prospects.

The Brazilian Microbiome Project (BMP) aims to assemble a Brazilian Metagenomic Consortium/Database. At present, many metagenomic projects underway in Brazil are widely known. Our goal in this initiative is to co-ordinate and standardize these together with new projects to come. It is estimated that Brazil hosts approximately 20 % of the entire world's macroorganism biological diversity. It is 1 of the 17 countries that share nearly 70 % of the world's catalogued animal and plant species, and is recognized as one of the most megadiverse countries. At the end of 2012, Brazil has joined GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility), as associated member, to improve the access to the Brazilian biodiversity data in a free and open way. This was an important step toward increasing international collaboration and clearly shows the commitment of the Brazilian government in directing national policies toward sustainable development. Despite its importance, the Brazilian microbial diversity is still considered to be largely unknown, and it is clear that to maintain ecosystem dynamics and to sustainably manage land use, it is crucial to understand the biological and functional diversity of the system. This is the first attempt to collect and collate information about Brazilian microbial genetic and functional diversity in a systematic and holistic manner. The success of the BMP depends on a massive collaborative effort of both the Brazilian and international scientific communities, and therefore, we invite all colleagues to participate in this project.