Kexuan Huang

Conference 2024 Live Talk

Talk Title

Characterizing interactions between dietary polyphenols and human gut microbiome on community-wide and strain-specific level

Authors and Affiliations

Kexuan Huang1, Yiwei Sun2, Harris H. Wang3, 4
1. Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, USA
2. Department of Biomedical Informatics, Columbia University, New York, USA
3. Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University, New York, USA
4. Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Columbia University, New York, USA

Abstract

Background

Diet significantly influences the composition and metabolic functions of the gut microbiome. Polyphenols, natural compounds derived from plants and crucial to the human diet, interact extensively with the gut microbiota as they get metabolized by gut bacteria. Previous research has shown that specific polyphenols boost the population of beneficial probiotic strains, and possess antimicrobial properties against harmful bacteria in vivo. However, they do not explain the precise extent and underlying mechanisms of polyphenol-gut bacteria interactions. Taking a systems biology approach, our research project aims to understand the effect of dietary polyphenols on both the human gut microbiome community and individual bacteria strains of the microbiome, and investigate whether the effects are bacteria species- / polyphenol class- dependent.

Methods

To examine the community-wide effect, fecal samples were collected from healthy adults. Perturbations on 7 human fecal samples were conducted by culturing them in mGAM supplemented with 5 polyphenol compounds, followed by metagenomic sequencing to assess strains’ relative abundance. For interactions between individual gut bacteria strains and dietary polyphenols, time-point incubation in 22 polyphenols with 16 strains at 3 concentrations was performed, followed by 16S V4 sequencing. Fold change before and after perturbations were calculated.

Results

Remarkably, our findings reveal that polyphenols from the same class present unique effects on gut bacteria. We have also observed that bacteria associated with diseases are particularly sensitive to polyphenols, often being inhibited by most polyphenols tested. On the other hand, strains known to benefit the human body tend to thrive in the presence of polyphenols. Additionally, the impact of polyphenols varies with concentration, with higher concentrations leading to stronger inhibitory effects and lower concentrations favoring the growth of beneficial bacteria.

Conclusions

Taken together, our results highlight the unique, concentration-specific, and strain-specific nature of polyphenol-gut microbiome interactions. This knowledge contributes to a deeper and more holistic understanding of how dietary polyphenols influence both the gut microbiome and overall health. It also suggests the potential for personalized precision therapy based on diet, allowing us to predict and control the outcomes of polyphenol consumption more effectively.