Poster Presentation Australian Society for Microbiology Annual Scientific Meeting 2024

Gut microbiome analysis in a company population: insights and interventions for health and wellness (#92)

Riccardo Colombo 1 , Chiara Marfurt 2 , Simone Paghera 3 , Anna Franzoni 3 , Cristiano Sabelli 3
  1. Private
  2. Zadei Clinic, Brescia, Italy
  3. Copan Italia Spa, Brescia, BS, Italy

Introduction

Last decade has seen a rapid increase in the number of fecal-based gut microbiome studies aiming to identify biomarkers of diseases1. This study focused on a homogeneous population within an urban company in Brescia (Italy) seeking to comprehensively investigate gut microbiome and its impact on well-being. Study participants live in or near Brescia, an area heavily impacted by COVID-19 pandemic, and they have either lunch or dinner in the company canteen.

Materials & Methods

Stool samples from 192 workers were collected using Copan SMART-eNAT® and 16S rRNA gene sequencing was performed to determine their taxonomic composition. Raw data were analyzed via Atlas Biomed proprietary platform providing indicators within a [2;10] range over areas including microbial diversity, anti-inflammatory potential, lactose and gluten metabolism, and diseases protection. Data have been used as input for a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) using the Clustvis online software2. ZadeiClinic offered personalized consultations, providing lifestyle and nutritional recommendations to each participant.

Results

The analysis revealed an average low anti-inflammatory potential that is linked to low abundance of bacteria producing metabolites with anti-inflammatory properties. It’s reasonable to hypothesize that this pattern could be an effect of SARS-CoV-2 infection, although the duration of altered gut microbiota after the disease remains to be determined3.  In addition, general population showed a low protection against obesity, Chron’s disease and ulcerative colitis while being well-protected against coronary heart disease and diabetes type 2. PCA allowed to identify three clearly separated groups. While PCA does not provide a reason for the group separation, it is possible to speculate that the three groups are mainly identified as the three enterotypes “Grain Lover”, “Western Gourmand” and “Veggie Muncher”4.

Conclusion

Based on these findings, tailored intervention strategies were proposed. These included the implementation of a nutritional program in the company's on-premises canteen, emphasizing the "eat the rainbow" nutrition plan. Additionally, educational initiatives focused on promoting healthy lifestyles and correcting detrimental habits were recommended. Integrating these measures and conducting regular checkups were emphasized as necessary steps toward enhancing gut health and overall well-being.

  1. Lynch, S. V. et al. The human intestinal microbiome in health and disease. N. Engl. J. Med. 375, 2369–2379 (2016).
  2. Metsalu T et al. ClustVis: a web tool for visualizing clustering of multivariate data using Principal Component Analysis and heatmap. Nucleic Acids Research (2015).
  3. Wang M et al. The relationship between gut microbiota and COVID-19 progression: new insights into immunopathogenesis and treatment. Front. Immunol. (2023)
  4. Arumugam M et al. Enterotypes of the human gut microbiome. Nature (2011).